Havana: The Making of Cuban Culture
- ISBN-10
- 185973832X
- ISBN-13
- 9781859738320
- Series
- Havana
- Category
- History / Latin America / Central America
- Pages
- 236
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2005-07
- Publisher
- Berg Publishers
- Author
- Antoni Kapcia
Description
Fat cigars, big cars, dirty money, vibrant music, intellectual ferment. Havana, since its creation in 1535, has long offered a unique, bewildering mix of the backward and the hip, the seedy and the sophisticated. In many respects, it shares the characteristics of other colonial or post-colonial cities of the Caribbean and Latin America. But at the same time, Havana created its own niche both as an international city and a dynamic national capital. Despite Cuba's fluctuating fortunes, Havana has always managed to thrive and develop its own unique character as an urban, social, economic, cultural and political site. Havana offers a sweeping account of the city and its cultural development, focusing especially on the last two centuries and on the role played by the city's cultural communities in the search for national identity. The author introduces us to a marginal city with roots in the sixteenth century, taking us through the periods when it was a sugar boomtown, pulled between empires, a decadent metropolis, a site of both cultural revolution and relative stagnation during the development of the Revolution to its revival in the 1990s. He looks at the often creative tensions between external influences (especially Spain, France and the United States) and indigenous cultural pressures. Areas covered include architecture, literature, music, dance, cinema and the press. Cosmopolitan playground and nationalist vanguard, Havana has developed its own style while at the same time both reflecting and directing the complicated politics of the whole of Cuba. This book offers a concise introduction to one of the most intriguing cities of the twenty-first century.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2018-02-10
- 94 pages
- Paperback
- Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Similar books
-
Feminism and the Legacy of Revolution: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas
By Karen KampwirthBooth, John. 1985. The End and the Beginning: The Nicaraguan Revolution. Boulder: Westview. Booth, John, and Thomas W. Walker. 1989. Understanding Central America. Boulder: Westview Borge, Tomás. 1984. Carlos, the Dawn Ls No Longer ...
-
The History of Central America
By Thomas L. PearcyPresents a history of the seven nations of Central America, covering early Central America, the evolution of the countries from provinces to independent nations, relations with the United States, and developments during the late twentieth ...
-
Confronting the American Dream: Nicaragua Under U.S. Imperial Rule
By Michel GobatMichel Gobat deftly interweaves political, economic, cultural, and diplomatic history to analyze the reactions of Nicaraguans to U.S. intervention in their country from the heyday of Manifest Destiny in the...
-
Inside Central America: Its People, Politics, and History
By Clifford KraussKrauss first went to Central America in 1977 to cover the Sandinista insurrection against the U.S.-backed Somoza regime. In this gripping and vidid report, this veteran Wall Street Journal and...
-
Inside El Salvador: The Essential Guide to Its Politics, Economy, Socieety, and Environment
By Kevin Murray, Tom BarryInside El Salvador: The Essential Guide to Its Politics, Economy, Socieety, and Environment
-
Voices from El Salvador
By Menéndez Rodríguez MenéndezVoices from El Salvador
-
America's Prisoner: The Memoirs of Manuel Noriega
By Peter Eisner, Manuel Antonio NoriegaManuel Noriega is the only American prisoner of war. He may be a demon in the eyes of most Americans, but he has a unique and alarming view of the...
-
Red, White, and Blue Paradise: The American Canal Zone in Panama
By Herbert Knapp, Mary KnappRed, White, and Blue Paradise: The American Canal Zone in Panama
-
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures: The Civilizations of Mexico and Central America
By David CarrascoAn extensive three-volume work, employing 300 international authors to compose 617 lengthy articles addressing biographies, general contextual essays, and specific topics. Entries offer information on the geography, history, arts, literature,...
-
Lost Kingdoms of the Maya
By Gene S. Stuart, George E. StuartThis new National Geographic book spans the 4,000-year-old history of the Maya, who developed one of the most remarakable civilizations in pre-Colombian America.The authors detail the painstaking work of reconstructing...