Alberto Yarini and the Search for Cubanidad, 1882-1910 Mayra Beers Florida International University, [email protected]
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Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 2-17-2011 Para Subsistir Dignamente: Alberto Yarini and the Search for Cubanidad, 1882-1910 Mayra Beers Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI11042710 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Beers, Mayra, "Para Subsistir Dignamente: Alberto Yarini and the Search for Cubanidad, 1882-1910" (2011). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 370. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/370 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida PARA SUBSISTIR DIGNAMENTE: ALBERTO YARINI AND THE SEARCH FOR CUBANIDAD, 1882-1910 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in HISTORY by Mayra Beers 2011 To: Dean Kenneth Furton College of Arts and Sciences The dissertation, written by Mayra Beers, and entitled Para Subsistir Dignamente: Alberto Yarini and the Search for Cubanidad, 1882-1910, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this dissertation and recommend that it be approved. Thomas A. Breslin N. David Cook Mark D. Szuchman Sherry Johnson, Major Professor Date of Defense: February 17, 2011 The dissertation of Mayra Beers is approved. Dean Kenneth Furton College of Arts and Sciences Interim Dean Kevin O’Shea University Graduate School Florida International University, 2011 ii DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to Randy, Jon and Josh. Their love and support makes it all worthwhile. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you is sometimes not a completely suitable phrase to express gratitude and appreciation. Even if inadequately expressed, I will try to recognize the work, support, and confidence that so many individuals have demonstrated to me over the course of my doctoral studies. Thank you to the members of my committee, who read, counseled, pushed, and applauded. My thanks to Dr. N. David Cook who encouraged me to continue my graduate studies beyond the Masters level, provided unique opportunities for my professional development, and supported me every step of the way. Dr. Mark Szuchman, the first professor I met in the Department of History at FIU, challenged me to strive for excellence and supported my sometimes-delayed quest for a graduate degree; thanks also for all the signatures on graduate forms. Dr. Thomas Breslin, long before he was even on my committee, provided sage advice and candid encouragement; his comments made my work stronger and the degree seem achievable. Most of all, my thanks go to my Major Professor, Dr. Sherry Johnson, who saw the potential of my work long before I did and who provided countless opportunities for me to present, publish, and be recognized for my research. She has counseled, critiqued, scolded, pushed, and cheered me every step of the way through my graduate studies and, in the process, has become a true mentor and friend. From the beginning, she showed confidence in my abilities to complete my dissertation with excellence and encouraged me, sometimes with a stern hand, to achieve my goal even when I had given up hope of ever doing so. Thank you Dr. Johnson. I sincerely owe a debt of gratitude to each member of my committee for their respect and labors on my behalf. iv My heartfelt thanks to Dr. Modesto Maidique for his encouragement and for the opportunity I had to learn from him every day over the past fifteen years. His example of leadership and the countless opportunities for my professional development he provided have both stretched and strengthened my academic and professional career. My thanks also go out to Elena Maubrey who in 1992 encouraged me to take the GRE and to pursue my dreams of obtaining a graduate degree when it seemed but a faint glimmer. Thanks also to Kristyn, Steven, Diana and Hayat for their support and assistance in completing the administrative process. For their financial and scholarly support my thanks go to the faculty and staff of the Latin American and Caribbean Center and the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University. I wish to thank my colleagues in Cuba who helped me comb the archives for clues and shared their work with me. I will not forget their kindness. My thanks also to Dr. Albert Dotson, Dr. Paul Gallagher, the staffs at the Center for Leadership and the Office of the President at FIU who all knew I would someday be Dr. Beers and told me so often. To my dear friend Roberto Pacheco, who read my work countless times, shared his knowledge, provided inspiration, expanded my intellectual horizons, and helped me so very much, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Most of all I must say thank you to my family, my husband Randy and sons Jonathan and Joshua. Thank you for loving me all the way through this process. You put up with a lot to allow me to finish what I started. v ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION PARA SUBSISTIR DIGNAMENTE: ALBERTO YARINI AND THE SEARCH FOR CUBANIDAD, 1882-1910 by Mayra Beers Florida International University, 2011 Miami, Florida Professor M. Sherry Johnson, Major Professor This study looks at the broader transformations in Cuban history through the case study of a single, yet symbolic, man, and proposes a new paradigm for understanding the dynamics of Cuban society and culture. It also examines the implications for Cuba’s aspiring national identity at the turn of the twentieth century, by detailing the interplay between fact and fiction in the story of Alberto Yarini: elite born; well-educated; politically and socially well-connected; powerful; and celebrated Cuban racketeer and chulo (pimp). Yarini was described as vibrant and triumphant at a time when other nation- building forces in Cuba were weak and ambivalent. A century after his dramatic death, Yarini became the quintessential public man in Cuban lore who symbolized a cubanidad (Cuban national identity) not defined in terms of the ideological hegemony of class, race, or gender, and who through his actions dispelled the ambivalence that plagued Cuban nationalism. Using archival documents, contemporary newspaper accounts, court records, memoirs, and published works, this study analyzes the confluence of national events and vi individual action in the formation of Cuban national identity. It contends that for Cuba, the failure of nation-building experiments resulted in an ambivalent national identity based on failed philosophical and political ideals of equality and prosperity. These ideals played out within the context of the realities of racial discrimination, political dissonance, and class and gender barriers. Instead of a cohesive sense of national character, for Cubans the result was a competing set of identities including a populist version that was defined through identification with antitypes and pseudo-heroes such as Alberto Yarini y Ponce de León (1882-1910), a rising politician and celebrated chulo of the early republic. The telling and retelling of his story has given rise to what has been termed the island nation’s first national myth – one that continues to evolve and grow in the twenty-first century. For many Cubans, the Yarini antitype provided an idealized national identity which in many ways was—and many argue continues to be— the expression of an elusive and ambivalent cubanidad. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THE EXPRESSION OF PUBLIC DREAMS: ALBERTO YARINI AND CUBANIDAD ……………………………………………………………….. 1 A Nation without a State …………………………………………………….. 4 From Evolutionaries to Revolutionaries ………………………….……….. 8 Raceless Cubanidad …………………………………………………...…….. 17 Public Dreams …………………………………………………………….…. 23 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………28 II. LA IMPENETRABLE ÉGIDA DE MI PERSONA: FROM TUSCANY TO HAVANA ………………………………………………………………..…. 33 Il Regno d'Italia ……………………….………………………………….….. 34 Hacer la America ……………………….……………………………………. 37 Marrying a Pedigree ……………………………………………………….… 41 Ponce de León ……………………………………………………………….. 53 Move to Havana ……………………………………………………………... 57 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………65 III. LA PATRIA PEQUEÑA: HAVANA………………………………...……… 68 Northern Suitors …………………………………………...………………… 71 Urban Landscape ………………………………………………...………....... 76 New Citizens ………………………………………………………………… 96 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………98 IV. AMBITION ATTRACTED HIM TO OUR BARRIO: THE SAN ISIDRO DISTRICT…………………………………………………………………… 100 The Barrio …………………………………………………………………… 100 Prostitution, Abakuás, and Bolita …………………………………………… 103 How to become King ……………………………………………………... 130 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………132 V. PARA SUBSISTIR DIGNAMENTE: YARINI THE PATRIOT ….………... 135 Ambivalent Nationhood ……………………………………………………... 136 A New Republic ……………………………………………………………... 141 Masculinity and Nationhood ………………………………………………… 146 The Spectacle of Masculinity…………………………………………...…… 148 Hegemonic Masculinity ……………………………………………………... 160 The American …………………………………………………………..……. 170 The Cuban …………………………………………………………………… 176 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………179 viii VI. NUNCA OLVIDARE AQUEL ENTIERRO: MOURNING, PUBLIC SPACE, AND CUBANIDAD.…………………………………………….…. 182 Conservatives and Liberals ………………………………………………….. 186 Apaches and Guayabitos……………………………………………………..