A Cultural History of Cuba during the U.S. Occupation, 1898-1902

Marial Iglesias Utset, Russ Davidson

• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780807871928, 9780807833988
• eBook ISBN: 9780807877845
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Latin American & Caribbean History
• Index: History

In this cultural history of Cuba during the United States' brief but influential occupation from 1898 to 1902 — a key transitional period following the Spanish-American War — Marial Iglesias Utset sheds light on the complex set of pressures that guided the formation and production of a burgeoning Cuban nationalism.

Drawing on archival and published sources, Iglesias illustrates the process by which Cubans maintained and created their own culturally relevant national symbols in the face of the U.S. occupation. Tracing Cuba’s efforts to modernize in conjunction with plans by U.S. officials to shape the process, Iglesias analyzes, among other things, the influence of the English language on Spanish usage; the imposition of North American holidays, such as Thanksgiving, in place of traditional Cuban celebrations; the transformation of Havana into a new metropolis; and the development of patriotic symbols, including the Cuban flag, songs, monuments, and ceremonies. Iglesias argues that the Cuban response to U.S. imperialism, though largely critical, indeed involved elements of reliance, accommodation, and welcome. Above all, Iglesias argues, Cubans engaged the Americans on multiple levels, and her work demonstrates how their ambiguous responses to the U.S. occupation shaped the cultural transformation that gave rise to a new Cuban nationalism.

INDEX

• Abakuá secret religious society, 138
• Abreu, Eulogio, 162 (n. 81)
• Abreu, Marta, 93–94
• Academy of Sciences, 18
• Acosta, Emilio, 52
• Advertisements: of consumer goods from United States, 25;
  • endorsements of products in, by independence leaders, 120;
  • in English language, 9, 56, 66, 69, 163 (n. 2);
  • for flags, 108, 119–20;
  • government regulations on, 155 (n. 39);
  • for hotels and restaurants, 95–96;
  • illustrations for, 15;
  • for patriotic objects, 119–20
• Afro-Cuban culture: and Abakuá secret religious society, 138;
  • and danzón, 4, 56–60, 62, 161 (n. 74);
  • and drumming, 53, 59–60, 62, 138, 162 (nn. 79, 81);
  • and Santería, 158 (n. 31), 159 (n. 45). See also Blacks
• Aguilera, Francisco Vicente, 117
• Alfonso XII (king of Spain), portrait of, 14
• Almanacs, 29–33, 42–43
• Alquízar, 89
• Alsina Neto, Arturo, 152 (n. 7)
• Álvarez Curbelo, Silvia, 34
• American Book Company, 72–73
• American Humane Association, 164–65 (n. 20)
• Americanization of Cuba: and changes in place names, 87–99, 169 (n. 24);
  • and conflicts of identity, 10–13, 25–26, 83–86;
  • and consumer goods, 2, 5, 24–25;
  • and English language, 1–2, 6, 65–83, 163 (nn. 1–2), 164 (n. 6);
  • and modernization generally, 2–3, 5–6, 8–9, 11, 12;
  • nongovernmental or philanthropic organizations influencing, 164–65 (n. 20);
  • overview of, 1–2, 5;
  • and public hygiene, 22–25;
  • and schools, 16, 69–86;
  • and separation of church and state, 37–38, 42;
  • and significance of everyday activities, 3–4, 9;
  • and Statue of Liberty, 26, 27, 28;
  • tension between Cuban nationalism and, 2–4, 8–9, 11, 77–78;
  • and urban development, 2, 5, 18–22, 153 (n. 22);
  • and U.S. celebrations, 33–36. See also United States; U.S. military occupation of Cuba
• American Monthly Review of Reviews, 70
• American Revolutionary War, 81
• Amerindian tradition, 116–17
• Anderson, Benedict, 7, 44, 128, 158–59 (n. 42)
• Animals, 22–23
• Appadurai, Arjun, 118
• Appleton, Ginn, and Company, 72
• Aragonés, Pedro, 81
• Archibald, James F. J., 161 (n. 74)
• Archives, Cuban, 17, 114
• Archivo General de la Isla, 17
• Arendt, H...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• A Cultural History of Cuba during the U.S. Occupation, 1898–1902
• Copyright Page
• CONTENTS
• TRANSLATOR'S NOTE
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• Introduction
• ONE Empty Pedestals and Barracks Converted into Schools
• TWO Policies Governing Celebrations
• THREE Attempts at Linguistic Colonization and the Struggle to Preserve Spanish
• FOUR The “Decolonization” of Names
• FIVE The Socialization of Symbols Representing the Idea of Country
• SIX Public Culture and Nationalism
• NOTES
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• INDEX