Close to one million Cubans have fled to the United States since the 1959 revolution that brought Castro to power. This migration is one of the most fascinating and unusual in American history, involving a population of largely first-generation immigrants who have adapted economically and politically to American life while maintaining a distinct cultural identity. Maria Cristina Garcia - a Cuban refugee herself, who was raised in the Cuban community of Miami and experienced firsthand many of the developments she describes - has written the most comprehensive and revealing account of the postrevolutionary Cuban migration to date. As exiles, Cubans have tried to define what it means to be Cuban in a country other than Cuba. They have created hundreds of organisations to define and assert their "cubanidad". Miami has become the centre of Cuban creativity in the United States, home to some of Cuba's most important artists, writers, and intellectuals. Despite their original intentions, the emigres have become as American as they are Cuban.
They have integrated into South Florida's labour market and created a vibrant business community that re-vitalised the local economy and has drawn other immigrants to the area. They have learned to work within the U.S. political system, and they now demonstrate political clout both in Miami and in Washington D.C. Garcia deftly navigates the waters of this negotiation between cultures. Focusing on the community in south Florida, where over half of the emigres make their homes, she investigates the cultural, economic, and political evolution of this hybrid society. Her exploration of the complicated realm of Cuban American identity sets a new standard in social and cultural history.
- ISBN10 0520919998
- ISBN13 9780520919990
- Publish Date 29 February 1996
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint University of California Press
- Format eBook
- Pages 239
- Language English