Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Series in Latin American and Latino Art and Culture : Life on the Hyphen : The Cuban-American Way (Revised Edition)

An expanded, updated edition of the classic study of Cuban-American culture, this engaging book, which mixes the author's own story with his reflections as a trained observer, explores how both famous and ordinary members of the "1.5 Generation" (Cubans who came to the United States as children or teens) have lived "life on the hyphen"--neither fully Cuban nor fully American, but a fertile hybrid of both. Offering an in-depth look at Cuban-Americans who have become icons of popular and literary culture--including Desi Arnaz, Oscar Hijuelos, musician Pérez Prado, and crossover pop star Gloria Estefan, as well as poets José Kozer and Orlando González Esteva, performers Willy Chirino and Carlos Oliva, painter Humberto Calzada, and others--Gustavo Pérez Firmat chronicles what it means to be Cuban in America. The first edition of Life on the Hyphen won the Eugene M. Kayden National University Press Book Award and received honorable mentions for the Modern Language Association's Katherine Singer Kovacs Prize and the Latin American Studies Association's Bryce Wood Book Award. Annotation An expanded, updated edition of the classic study of Cuban-American culture, this engaging book, which mixes the author's own story with his reflections as a trained observer, explores how both famous and ordinary members of the "1.5 Generation" (Cubans who came to the United States as children or teens) have lived "life on the hyphen"neither fully Cuban nor fully American, but a fertile hybrid of both. Offering an in-depth look at Cuban-Americans who have become icons of popular and literary cultureincluding Desi Arnaz, Oscar Hijuelos, musician Pérez Prado, and crossover pop star Gloria Estefan, as well as poets José Kozer and Orlando González Esteva, performers Willy Chirino and Carlos Oliva, painter Humberto Calzada, and othersGustavo Pérez Firmat chronicles what it means to be Cuban in America. The first edition of Life on the Hyphenwon the Eugene M. Kayden National University Press Book Award and received honorable mentions for the Modern Language Association's Katherine Singer Kovacs Prize and the Latin American Studies Association's Bryce Wood Book Award Preface to the Second Edition: The Facts of Life on the Hyphen 10 Introduction. The Desi Chain 16 Mambo No. 1: Lost in Translation 34 1. I Love Ricky 34 Mambo No. 2. Spic ’n’ Spanish 58 2. The Man Who Loved Lucy 58 Mambo No. 3. Desi Does It 85 3. A Brief History of Mambo Time 85 Mambo No. 4. The Barber of Little Havana 109 4. Salsa for All Seasons 109 Mambo No. 5. Mirror, Mirror 141 5. Rum, Rump, and Rumba 143 Mambo No. 6. English Is Broken Here 160 6. No Man’s Language 162 Mambo No. 7. El mago de la ñ y el acento 186 7. The Spell of the Hyphen 186 Epilogue. My Repeating Island 205 Notes 212 Index 238 Permissions Acknowledgments 254 With fascinating insights into how both ordinary and famous Cuban-Americans, including Desi Arnaz, Oscar Hijuelos, Gloria Estefan, and José Kozer, have lived 'life on the hyphen', this is an expanded, updated edition of the classic, award-winning study of Cuban-American culture