Beyond Cuban waters : África, La Yuma, and the island's global imagination

Twenty-first century Cuba is a cultural stew. Tommy Hilfiger and socialism. Nike products and poverty in Africa. The New York Yankees and the meaning of 'blackness.' The quest for American consumer goods and the struggle in Africa for political and cultural independence inform the daily life of Cubans at every cultural level, as anthropologist Paul Ryer argues in Beyond Cuban Waters. Focusing on the everyday world of ordinary Cubans, this book examines Cuban understandings of the world and of Cuba's place in it, especially as illuminated by two contrasting notions: 'La Yuma,' a distinctly Cuban concept of the American experience, and 'Africa,' the ideological understanding of that continent's experience. Ryer takes us into the homes of Cuban families, out to the streets and nightlife of bustling cities, and on boat journeys that reach beyond the typical destinations, all to better understand the nature of the cultural life of a nation. This pursuit of Western status symbols represents a uniquely Cuban experience, set apart from other cultures pursuing the same things. In the Cuban case, this represents neither an acceptance nor rejection of the American cultural influence, but rather a co-opting or 'Yumanizing' of these influences. Twenty-first century Cuba is a cultural stew. Tommy Hilfiger and socialism. Nike products and poverty in Africa. The New York Yankees and the meaning of "blackness." The quest for American consumer goods and the struggle in Africa for political and cultural independence inform the daily life of Cubans at every cultural level, as anthropologist Paul Ryer argues in Beyond Cuban Waters . Focusing on the everyday world of ordinary Cubans, this book examines Cuban understandings of the world and of Cuba's place in it, especially as illuminated by two contrasting notions: "La Yuma," a distinctly Cuban concept of the American experience, and "África," the ideological understanding of that continent's experience. Ryer takes us into the homes of Cuban families, out to the streets and nightlife of bustling cities, and on boat journeys that reach beyond the typical destinations, all to better understand the nature of the cultural life of a nation. This pursuit of Western status symbols represents a uniquely Cuban experience, set apart from other cultures pursuing the same things. In the Cuban case, this represents neither an acceptance nor rejection of the American cultural influence, but rather a co-opting or "Yumanizing" of these influences. Cover......Page 1 Title Page......Page 4 Table of Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Introduction: An Antillean Archipelago......Page 14 1. The Rise and Decline of La Yuma......Page 38 2. África in Revolutionary Cuba......Page 70 3. Color, Mestizaje, and Belonging in Cuba......Page 102 4. Beyond a Boundary......Page 136 Conclusion: Geographies of Imagination......Page 170 Notes......Page 176 References......Page 202 Index......Page 232 Focusing on the everyday world of ordinary Cubans, this book examines Cuban understandings of the world and of Cuba's place in it. Ryer takes us into the homes of Cuban families, onto the streets and nightlife of bustling cities, and on boat journeys that reach beyond the typical destinations, all to better understand the nature of the cultural life of a nation. Introduction: an Antillean archipelago -- The rise and decline of La Yuma -- Africa in revolutionary Cuba -- Color, mestizaje, and belonging in Cuba -- Beyond a boundary -- Conclusion: geographies of imagination