Imaging the Chinese in Cuban Literature and Culture
Ignacio López-Calvo
Abstract
More than 150 years ago, the first Chinese contract laborers (“coolies”) arrived in Cuba to work the colonial plantations. Eventually, over 150,000 Chinese immigrated to the island, and their presence has had a profound effect on all aspects of Cuban cultural production, from food to books to painting. The author's interpretations often go against the grain of earlier research, refusing to conceive of Cuban identity either in terms of a bipolar black/white opposition or an idyllic and harmonious process of miscegenation. He also counters traditional representations of chinos mambises, Chinese ... More
More than 150 years ago, the first Chinese contract laborers (“coolies”) arrived in Cuba to work the colonial plantations. Eventually, over 150,000 Chinese immigrated to the island, and their presence has had a profound effect on all aspects of Cuban cultural production, from food to books to painting. The author's interpretations often go against the grain of earlier research, refusing to conceive of Cuban identity either in terms of a bipolar black/white opposition or an idyllic and harmonious process of miscegenation. He also counters traditional representations of chinos mambises, Chinese immigrants who fought for Cuba in the Wars of Independence against Spain.
Keywords:
Chinese contract laborers,
coolies,
Cuba,
colonial plantations,
Cuban identity,
cultural production,
chinos mambises
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2008 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780813032405 |
| Published to Florida Scholarship Online: September 2011 |
DOI:10.5744/florida/9780813032405.001.0001 |
