Cubanisimo!: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Cuban LiteratureCristina García ¡Cubanísimo! is the first book to gather Cuban stories, essays, poems and novel excerpts in one volume that summarizes the richness and depth of a great national literature. From the turn of the century to the present, from Havana to Miami, New York, Mexico City, Madrid and beyond, the spirit and diversity of Cuban cultureconverge in one vibrant literary jam session. Cristina García has ingeniously grouped her selections according to “the music of their sentences” into five sections named for Cuban dance styles. ¡Cubanísimo! begins with an elegant classical danzón section that includes poems and diaries from the father of Cuban literature, José Martí, and Antonio Benítez-Rojo’s hallucinatory story A View from the Mangrove. As it moves to more contemporary dances, the book offers, among other delights, the essay by Alejo Carpentier that was the first to define magical realism; the scandalously sensual eighth chapter from José Lezama Lima’s controversial 1966 novel Paradiso; Ana Menendez’s Little Havana-inspired story, In Cuba I was a German Shepherd; a passage from Reinaldo Arenas’s acclaimed memoir Before Night Falls and six witty musings—or mambos—on language from Gustavo Pérez Firmat’s Life on the Hyphen. A brilliant introduction for readers who want to explore Cuban literature, as well as a collectible volume for those who love Cuba, ¡Cubanísimo! is a celebration of Cuban culture, from the island to its farthest flung voices. |
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Cubanisimo!: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Cuban Literature Cristina García No preview available - 2003 |
Cubanisimo!: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Cuban Literature Cristina García No preview available - 2003 |
Common terms and phrases
Antonio arrived asked Beatriz beautiful began Benicia body bottle bullmastiff called Carlos Cemí cha-cha-chá cigar Ciro Ciro's Cuba Cuban dance danzón dark daughter Devil DOLORES door dream dress El Manatí el Rubio Estrella eyes face Farraluque friends Fronesis girl Godofredo Guantánamo guayabera hair hand Havana head heard hide José JOSÉ LEZAMA LIMA José Martí knew laughed leave lived looked Lorca Lydia Cabrera Mambiala mambo mangrove Marcial Máximo mother mouth moved NARRATOR never night pieces poet quinceañera rain Raúl Reinaldo Arenas rhythm Roque San Martín Rubio rumba Santiago de Cuba Serapio shouted sitting slaves sleep smell smile smoke someone soul Spanish stopped street sugar talking tell thing tobacco told Tomás de Aquino took trees turned VIRGILIO PIÑERA voice walked watch woman Zenón