Myths, Metaphors and Landscapes of Cuban Africanía, 1974-1980
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Peters, Christabelle A. (2010) Identifying (with) 'Carlota': myths, metaphors and landscapes of Cuban Africanía, 1974-1980. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. Access from the University of Nottingham repository: http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/13226/1/537822.pdf Copyright and reuse: The Nottingham ePrints service makes this work by researchers of the University of Nottingham available open access under the following conditions. · Copyright and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. · To the extent reasonable and practicable the material made available in Nottingham ePrints has been checked for eligibility before being made available. · Copies of full items can be used for personal research or study, educational, or not- for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. · Quotations or similar reproductions must be sufficiently acknowledged. Please see our full end user licence at: http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/end_user_agreement.pdf A note on versions: The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher’s version. Please see the repository url above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription. For more information, please contact [email protected] Identifying (with) `Carlota': Myths, Metaphors and Landscapesof Cuban Africania, 1974-1980 ChristabelleA. Peters Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degreeof Doctor of Philosophy December 2010 Abstract The thesis expandsthe field of scholarlyenquiry on the Cuban intervention in Angola beyond the frame of geopolitics into the areaof cultural politics. It considersthe relation betweenAfrica as a cultural and political `territory' in the Cuban imaginary and the epic internationalist mission known as Operation Carlota. By focusing on representationsand manifestations of `Africanness'in discursivepractices ranging from culture and the arts to domestic and foreign policy, the enquiry illustrateshow the notion of Cuba asLatin-African evolved in relation to changesin revolutionary ideology during the period known as the quinqueniogrit, and with regard to the swell of liberation movementsthroughout the African Diaspora. My approach proceedsfrom Victor Turner's theory of liminality, which discusseshow behaviour de be 11 ritual and symbolism - rites passages- may usedas for With concepts an understanding of socialstructure and processes. this view in mind, I construct a theoretical framework that conjoins the notion of ritual in Cuba's Africa- derived religious practiceswith the more generalidea of war, or in this case internationalism, as a socialritual. In this way, I demonstratethat the Angolan Experiencewas essentialto the transformation of Cuban collective identity from Latin American to Caribbean by the 1980s. This shift, I claim, was sponsored,on the international level, by the symbolism of the military mission asan epic re-enactment of level, by the West African Diaspora/Caribbeanmyth of return, and, on the national hermeneutic slaveiconology. The methodological technique used combinesa critical reading of cultural productions with postcolonial stylesof socialand cultural analysis. Acknowledgements A generousand multi-talented host of alliescontributed to this researchproject. First, I am only too aware that without the award of a studentship from the Department of Spanish,Portuguese and Latin American StudiesI might never havehad the opportunity to benefit from the responsiveness,meticulousness, wit, and deepwisdom of my supervisors,Tony Kapcia and Mark Millington. For their powerful support through the various challengesthat aroseduring this process,I owe a huge debt of gratitude. Among the numerous individuals who contributed to the nourishing and inspiring environment that I have enjoyed thesepast five yearsin the Department, I would especiallylike to thank Adam Sharman,Jean Andrews and Mark Sabinefor their encouragementand helpful suggestions. I alsovery much appreciatethe companionship Claudia, iii of my fellow students: in particular my thanks go to Phrain, Ana Iona, and ResearchForum has been Meeshafor making room for mein their homes. The Cuba a sourceof considerableassistance, and helped to finance two months of researchin Cuba. from Graduate School. I was alsofortunate enough to win a very helpful travel prize the My stay in Cuba was enriched by the extraordinary kindnessof severalcomrades: Judith, Miyares family. Frank, Henrietta (mi madre cubana), Yahima, and Leonel Ruiz and Deep thanks are extendedto Ricardo Hernandez Otero of the Instituto dc Literature y for Lingüistica and Tomas FernandezRobaina of the Biblioteca National their generous assistance.In this country, I would like to thank Par Kumaraswami, Michael Chanan, Christine Ayorinde, and, especially,Onyekachi Wambu for their insight, interest and advice. I have beensustained throughout by the invaluable help, affection, advice, and backing of friends, especially:Suzanne, Andrrs, Ann, Elanna, Brian, Nicole, Bryn, Manju, Lisa,Jon, and Janna. Heartfelt thanks go to my mother, stepfather, sister,and brother for believing in me always. Finally, for abandoning their own paths acrossthe Atlantic to accompanyme on mine, I extend my deepestgratitude to Tej, Zil and Vincenzo. Without their good-humoured companionship and devotion, this thesis would not have been possible. iv Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgments iii List of Abbreviations V1 Introduction 1 Part I- Separation 46 1.1 SlaveNostalgias 49 1.2 The Public Lives of Santeria 79 1.3 El Atlas dc Africania: Part One 116 Part II - Transition 148 2.1 Rituals of War 151 V 2.2 Returnof the Slaves 188 2.3 El Atlas dc Af icania: Part Two 220 Part 250 III - Incorporation 3.1 `Un Mismo Sol Caribtno? 252 3.2 El Atlas de Afi cania: Part Three 296 Conclusion 319 Appendix I ResearchMethods: Notes 336 Appendix II ResearchMethods: Interviews 338 Bibliography 339 List of Illustrations 370 List of Abbreviations ACRC Asociacibn dc Combatientes de la Revolution Cubana CARICOM Caribbean Community CIA Central Intelligence Agency COMECON Council for Mutual Economic Assistance CORE Congressof Racial Equality CUC PesoCubano Convertible FAR FucrzasArmadas Revolucionarias FNLA Frente National para a Libertacäo de Angola INTUR Instituto Nacional de Turismo LAN IC Latin American Network Information Center MININT Ministerio del Interior V1 MPLA Movimento Popular dc Libertacaode Angola M-26-7 Movimiento 26 dc Julio People NAACP National Associationfor the Advancement of Colored OAS Organization ofAmerican States OAU Organization ofAfrican Unity OLAS Organization of Latin American Solidarity ORI Organizations RevolucionariasIntegradas Asia, Africa OSPAAL Organizaciön de Solidaridad con los Pueblosde y America Latina PCC Partido Comunista dc Cuba PIC Partido Independiente dc Color SNCC Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee INTRODUCTION There are certain placeson earth that inflame great passionsin the hearts of women and men: regions of myth, peopled by dreamers. The archipelagoof Cuba is just such a land - its national apostle,Jose Mani, a conjuror of metaphors,a poet. The Revolution's slogan "Patna o muerte, venceremos," whilst expressingthe same self-sacrificing sentiment as RevolutionaryAmerica's rallying cry "Give me liberty or give me death," differs most saliently in its implicit connection with a specific landscape. Numerous scholarsand analystsof various disciplinary backgroundshave focusedattention on the contestedaspects of this landscape,above all in relation to the intricate and problematic relationship betweenCuba and the United States(see Perez Jr., 1990,1999,2008; Paterson,1994; Franklin, 1997; Morales Dominguez, 2008; Schoultz, 2009; etc.). In 1 November 1975, however,Cuba's epic military intervention in the Angolan civil war brought Western Africa to the foreground asa territory with its own unique claims upon the Cuban imaginary.' Beyond a mere problem in military or political history, Cuban `internationalism' in Angola was, and continues to be, a cultural and social event. Its geopolitical significance has already been the subject of several studies, including those by Edward George (2005), Isaac Saney (2006), and Wayne S. Smith (1989); however, the present thesis involves a shift in emphasis from politics alone to "the domain of cultural politics ' In the thesis,the term `territory' is used explicitly to describethe moral geographyof a place. In turn, moral geographyopens a landscapeup to its ideological significance, and lays emphasison the role of the imagination in SeeDavid geographical the production of notions of insidedness/outsidedness. Atkinson et al Cultrmtl Gegnsphy: A Critical Dictionary of Key Concepts(2005) for wider definitions of theseterms. Also Joel Bonnemaison usefully exploresthe territory asa paradigm for human geography,effectively differences setting out the between political and cultural conceptualisations (2005: 113-119). where meaningsare negotiatedand relations of dominance and subordination are defined and contested" (Jackson,1989: 2). This approach placesthe relation between culture and society in the foreground, while drawing attention to those areasof intersection with national