Before the Thaw: The Transnational Routes of Cuban Popular Culture
Years before Presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro announced a “thaw” in US-Cuba relations on December 17, 2014 (17D), Cubans were intensifying ties through the transnational circulation of popular culture. To understand Cuba and its diaspora in the twenty-first century, it is essential that we at...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2019-04-01
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| Series: | Latin American Research Review |
| Online Access: | https://larrlasa.org/articles/148 |
| _version_ | 1811323865923584000 |
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| author | Albert Sergio Laguna |
| author_facet | Albert Sergio Laguna |
| author_sort | Albert Sergio Laguna |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Years before Presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro announced a “thaw” in US-Cuba relations on December 17, 2014 (17D), Cubans were intensifying ties through the transnational circulation of popular culture. To understand Cuba and its diaspora in the twenty-first century, it is essential that we attend to the transnational networks in place before 17D that continue to shape quotidian life for people on and off the island. I begin in Miami, with the “afterlives” of a comic variety show called 'Sabadazo'—popular on the island during the 1990s—to illustrate how what it means to be Cuban, politically and culturally, has shifted away from the exile generation that arrived in the 1960s and 1970s. I complement this analysis with attention to generational tensions within the diaspora and representations of race and sexuality. I then move to the island to examine 'el paquete' (the package), a terabyte’s worth of mostly foreign media updated and distributed across the island weekly. I contend that the economic and cultural impact of 'el paquete' cannot be fully understood without careful consideration of the role of the Cuban diaspora. Resumen Años antes de que los presidentes Barack Obama y Raúl Castro anunciaran un “deshielo” en la relación entre Cuba y Estados Unidos el 17 de diciembre del 2014 (17D), los cubanos ya intensificaban los lazos por medio de la circulación transnacional de la cultura popular. Para poder comprender a Cuba y su diáspora en el siglo XXI, es esencial que prestemos atención a las redes transnacionales establecidos antes de 17D que continúan moldeando la vida cotidiana de las personas dentro y fuera de la isla. Yo comienzo en Miami con los “ultratumbas” de Sabadazo, un show de comedia y espectáculo muy popular en la isla en los años 90, para ilustrar cómo lo que significa ser cubano política y culturalmente, se ha desviado de la generación de exiliados que llegaron en los años sesenta y setentas. Yo complemento este análisis poniendo la atención a las tensiones dentro de la diáspora y las representaciones de raza y sexualidad. Prosigo hacia la isla para estudiar “el paquete”, un terabit de medios de comunicación extranjera actualizados y distribuidos semanalmente por toda la isla. Yo sostengo que el impacto económico y cultural del paquete no se puede comprender en su totalidad sin antes considerar cuidadosamente el papel que juega la diáspora cubana. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:04:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-42a246a152804290b9fe64ab63e77430 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1542-4278 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:04:10Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Latin American Research Review |
| spelling | doaj.art-42a246a152804290b9fe64ab63e774302022-12-22T02:43:58ZengCambridge University PressLatin American Research Review1542-42782019-04-0154110.25222/larr.148181Before the Thaw: The Transnational Routes of Cuban Popular CultureAlbert Sergio Laguna0Yale UniversityYears before Presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro announced a “thaw” in US-Cuba relations on December 17, 2014 (17D), Cubans were intensifying ties through the transnational circulation of popular culture. To understand Cuba and its diaspora in the twenty-first century, it is essential that we attend to the transnational networks in place before 17D that continue to shape quotidian life for people on and off the island. I begin in Miami, with the “afterlives” of a comic variety show called 'Sabadazo'—popular on the island during the 1990s—to illustrate how what it means to be Cuban, politically and culturally, has shifted away from the exile generation that arrived in the 1960s and 1970s. I complement this analysis with attention to generational tensions within the diaspora and representations of race and sexuality. I then move to the island to examine 'el paquete' (the package), a terabyte’s worth of mostly foreign media updated and distributed across the island weekly. I contend that the economic and cultural impact of 'el paquete' cannot be fully understood without careful consideration of the role of the Cuban diaspora. Resumen Años antes de que los presidentes Barack Obama y Raúl Castro anunciaran un “deshielo” en la relación entre Cuba y Estados Unidos el 17 de diciembre del 2014 (17D), los cubanos ya intensificaban los lazos por medio de la circulación transnacional de la cultura popular. Para poder comprender a Cuba y su diáspora en el siglo XXI, es esencial que prestemos atención a las redes transnacionales establecidos antes de 17D que continúan moldeando la vida cotidiana de las personas dentro y fuera de la isla. Yo comienzo en Miami con los “ultratumbas” de Sabadazo, un show de comedia y espectáculo muy popular en la isla en los años 90, para ilustrar cómo lo que significa ser cubano política y culturalmente, se ha desviado de la generación de exiliados que llegaron en los años sesenta y setentas. Yo complemento este análisis poniendo la atención a las tensiones dentro de la diáspora y las representaciones de raza y sexualidad. Prosigo hacia la isla para estudiar “el paquete”, un terabit de medios de comunicación extranjera actualizados y distribuidos semanalmente por toda la isla. Yo sostengo que el impacto económico y cultural del paquete no se puede comprender en su totalidad sin antes considerar cuidadosamente el papel que juega la diáspora cubana.https://larrlasa.org/articles/148 |
| spellingShingle | Albert Sergio Laguna Before the Thaw: The Transnational Routes of Cuban Popular Culture Latin American Research Review |
| title | Before the Thaw: The Transnational Routes of Cuban Popular Culture |
| title_full | Before the Thaw: The Transnational Routes of Cuban Popular Culture |
| title_fullStr | Before the Thaw: The Transnational Routes of Cuban Popular Culture |
| title_full_unstemmed | Before the Thaw: The Transnational Routes of Cuban Popular Culture |
| title_short | Before the Thaw: The Transnational Routes of Cuban Popular Culture |
| title_sort | before the thaw the transnational routes of cuban popular culture |
| url | https://larrlasa.org/articles/148 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT albertsergiolaguna beforethethawthetransnationalroutesofcubanpopularculture |