Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 3-17-2004 Cubanía and Caridad : a comparative analysis of Cuban Marianism Alma DeRojas Florida International University DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI14062246 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the Latin American Studies Commons Recommended Citation DeRojas, Alma, "Cubanía and Caridad : a comparative analysis of Cuban Marianism" (2004). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2776. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2776 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 CUBANIA AND CARIDAD: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CUBAN MARIANISM A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN STUDIES by Alma DeRojas 2004 To: Dean R. Bruce Dunlap College of Arts and Sciences This thesis, written by Alma DeRojas, and entitled Cubania and Caridad: A Comparative Analysis of Cuban Marianism, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this thesis and recommend that it be approved. Sarah Mahler Lisandro Perez Terry Rey, Major Professor Date of Defense: March 17, 2004 The thesis of Alma DeRojas is approved. Dean R. Bruce Dunlap College of Arts and Sciences Dean Douglas Wartzok University Graduate School Florida International University, 2004 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the guidance of my major professor, Dr. Terry Rey. I would also like to thank the other members of my committee, Dr. Lisandro Perez and Dr. Sarah Mahler, for their support. I am especially grateful for the travel grant I received from the Cuban Research Institute to conduct my research in Cuba. Finally, I wish to dedicate this thesis to all those Cubans, both in Miami and on the island, who helped me to understand the power and significance of La Caridad. iii ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS CUBANIA AND CARIDAD: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CUBAN MARIANISM by Alma DeRojas Florida International University, 2004 Miami, Florida Professor Terry Rey, Major Professor The primary purpose of the thesis was to compare the present cultural and political significance of La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre for Cubans on the island and in exile, focusing on the Virgin's role as a symbol of national identity. The secondary purpose was to explore the historical evolution of the Virgin's myth through an analysis of documents and scholarly literature. In addition to participant observation, interviews of 50 Cubans were conducted at La Caridad's shrines in Cuba and Miami. These interviews reveal that the Virgin's symbol continues to meet the religious, economic, political, and social needs of Cubans everywhere. Furthermore, her symbol reveals insights into the nature of Cuban national identity. The thesis concludes that the myth of La Caridad, like Cuban identity itself, is dynamic, complex, multi-dimensional, and fluid. iv TABLE F CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1. IN TRO D U CTION ........................................................................................... 1 Research Question and Hypothesis .................................................................. Theoretical Perspective .................................................................................... Significance of Study ....................................................................................... 4 Methodology .................................................................................................... 5 II. LITERA TU RE V IE ................................................................................ 7 III. THEORIZING THE VIRGIN'S VENERATION ....................... ...... I Symbolic Flexibility ......................................................................................... 11 Symbolic Liberation ......................................................................................... 15 Symbolic Transcendence ................................................................................. 20 The Cuban Spirit ....................................................... .............................. 23 IV . O U R LA D Y F CU BA LIBRE ...................................................................... 30 Yo soy la Virge de la Cari ad ........................................................................ 34 The Royal Slaves and the Virgin ..................................................................... 36 La Virgen Mambisa.......................................................................................... 41 i irge de la Caridad, salva a Cuba! .............................................................. 45 Dina de la Republica ...................................................................................... 52 V TH E FLU ID ITY F O CH UN ......................................................................... 57 The Source ....................................................................................................... 58 The Ca io .................................................................................................... 65 The C mi o of Cubania ................................................................................. 70 V. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LA CA A 'S CURRENT SIGNIFICANCE .............................................................................................. 76 Miami: September 7 and , 2003... ................................................................. 76 Cuba; September , 2003 ................................................................................ 83 Reflections ....................................................................................................... 88 Interviews ......................................................................................................... 4 V II. CON CLU SION S .............................................................................................. 122 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................ 128 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................. 136 v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION On September 8, 2002, 9,000 exiled Cubans gathered in Miami's American Airlines Arena to celebrate the feast day of Cuba's patroness, La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre.' Meanwhile in Havana thousands of Cubans accompanied an image of La Caridad in a twelve-block procession led by their Archbishop. Throughout the island, similar processions and Masses were held in honor of the Virgin, which were each attended by some dissidents and human rights activists, and consequently by state security agents. In both Miami and Havana, cries of iCuba libre! emanated from the crowds, yet in Havana, this cry for democracy resulted in the arrest of three dissidents (Fernandes). Fear of the political power of these celebrations even led Cuban authorities to prohibit a similar procession in the province of Villa Clara. Thousands still gathered, however, to hear the homily of Father Felix Ferre. Although his main message was to inspire Cubans to be the protagonists of their own history, he also emphasized that "Our Lady of Charity is the mother of all Cubans, inside and outside the country" (Fernandes). As these celebrations on both sides of the Florida Straits reveal, La Virgen de la Caridad continues to affect the lives of Cubans around the world, nearly four hundred years after her statue was discovered in the Bay of Nipe. This thesis explores comparatively the symbolic significance of La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre for Cubans in the diaspora and on the island, focusing on the Virgin's role as a symbol of national identity and her contested representations in Cuban politics. My primary 1 Attendance figure given in the Spanish-language newspaper of the Archdiocese of Miami, La voz catolica. 1 purpose is to compare the present cultural and political significance of La Caridad for Cubans on and off the island, while my secondary purpose is to explore the historical evolution of the Virgin's myth. As a national symbol of Cuba, the Virgin of Charity has been appropriated by various sectors of Cuban society and the Cuban exile community through the centuries. While I recognize that La Caridad's symbol does not appeal to all Cubans, especially to the growing number of Protestants on the island today, her appropriation by diverse sectors of Cuban society reveals her wide appeal.2 Specifically, I focus on the following groups: cobreros3 of the eighteenth century, mambises4 of the independence wars, exiles of the twentieth century, followers of Santeria (both on and off the island), and Cubans on the island today. For each group I analyze not only how the appropriation of the Virgin's symbol has met certain needs, but also how she is a symbol of cubania, or the Cuban spirit created by the desire to be Cuban, regardless of geographical, social, political, and cultural boundaries. Research Question and Hypothesis My research question consists of two equally important aspects: 1) How has the symbol of La Caridad evolved over the centuries? 2) How is the symbol of La Caridad