The Idea of Cuba

Looks at contemporary Cuba: the indomitable 1950s American car, the beautiful young woman, and the revered revolutionary hero, Jose Marti. Giving the reader insight into the Cuban national character, this title helps to understand what gives Cubans - on the island or in exile - their enduring strength and their hope for the future.

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This journey into contemporary Cuba by Alex Harris is a powerful and mysterious evocation of life on the island. In the foreground of Harris' photographs and text are some of the archetypes of contemporary Cuban life: the indomitable 1950s American car, the beautiful young woman, and the revered revolutionary hero, Jose Marti, a repeated icon in Harris' photographs and the focus of his text. Indeed, Marti is at the heart of this book, a visual and textual mantra, giving us insight into the Cuban national character and helping us to understand what gives Cubans - on the island or in exile - their enduring strength and their hope for the future. In her accompanying personal essay, Yale historian Lillian Guerra confronts the paradox of Cuba from a different perspective. An American daughter of Cuban exiles, she has visited the island repeatedly to conduct research and to try to understand what it means to be Cuban.