Masculinity and Racial Exclusion in Cuba, 1895-1902
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ENGENDERING INEQUALITY: MASCULINITY AND RACIAL EXCLUSION IN CUBA, 1895-1902 Bonnie A. Lucero A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History. Chapel Hill 2013 Approved by: Dr. Louis A. Pérez, Jr. Dr. Kathryn Burns Dr. John Chasteen Dr. John D. French Dr. Miguel La Serna ©2013 Bonnie A. Lucero ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT BONNIE A. LUCERO: Engendering Inequality: Masculinity and Racial Exclusion in Cuba, 1895-1902 (Under the direction of Dr. Louis A. Pérez, Jr.) This dissertation explains the rise of a culture of racial silence in a time of heightening racial exclusion in Cuba at the turn of the twentieth century. Employing a case study of Cienfuegos, a port city on the south-central coast of the island, I examine gendered articulations of inequality among Cuban separatists between the outbreak of the war of independence in 1895 and the inauguration of the Cuban republic in 1902. I argue that Cuban struggles for political power in the wake of the American military intervention (1898) and military occupation (1899-1902) fundamentally transformed separatist visions of citizenship, increasingly restricting its boundaries along racial lines. Separatists expressed racial exclusion in terms of masculinity. During the first years of the war, a discourse of racial brotherhood afforded inclusion to all men regardless of race or class. There were two key turning points thereafter. When Cubans entered the final year of the anticolonial struggle and especially after the American intervention, diverse groups of separatists struggled to secure access to political power. Hierarchical visions of masculinity stood in for racial inequality, resulting in the general exclusion of men of African descent from political power. The second transformation unfolded during the military occupation. Manliness, and by implication political power, iii became increasingly contingent upon collaboration with American military authorities. Failure to cooperate with Americans supposedly equated with supporting black rule in Cuba. Collaboration with the Americans, however, meant preserving racial order and sacrificing the revolutionary promise of social justice. Manliness provided a strategy by which political elites could preserve the discourse of racial brotherhood which afforded them political legitimacy among their fellow separatists. Simultaneously, they were able to justify the racial exclusion that earned them the esteem of American military authorities. Poor and working-class black men and women appropriated this gendered language to protest social inequality, marking the consolidation of the discourse of racial brotherhood amidst a general silence on issues of race. iv DEDICATION To my mother, Blythe A. Lucero, for being the symbol of strength in the hardest of times. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Working in Cuba can be an incredibly rewarding experience, but it is never easy. This dissertation arises from four years of collaboration and struggle, cooperation and obstruction, realization and frustration. It is built upon more than seven years of discovering how to live and work there, each breakthrough serving as further proof of how much more there is to learn. The highs and the lows of working in Cuba have only solidified my love of the island, its people and the treasures of its history. I am forever indebted to my wonderful adviser, Dr. Louis A. Pérez, Jr., for his invaluable feedback on my work, his patience with my persisting imperfections, and his unending support for my professional development. He has always been supportive of my aspirations and his advice and admonitions have always been well-founded. He so generously shared his connections with scholars in both the United States and Cuba, from Rebecca Scott to Pepe Vega Suñol to Eduardo Torres-Cuevas. Professor Pérez was instrumental in helping me establish connections with Orlando García Martínez in Cienfuegos, without whom research in that city would have been impossible. In his infinite wisdom and encyclopedic knowledge of local history, Orlando has oriented me in the rich history of Cienfuegos, guided me in my research and allowed me into the local scholarly community. He helped me gain access to the invaluable collections of the Archivo Provincial Histórico de Cienfuegos, despite certain resistance therein. Orlando welcomed me into his family, which became my own, my familia vi cienfueguera. His daughter, Anabel García García has been and continues to be a friend and a colleague. Together we spent numerous afternoons browsing documents and confronting the usual archival obstacles and weekends sharing, debating, and discussing ideas and research trajectories and others cogiendo brisa on the Malecón. Ileana, Yoany, Pocho, Dianelis, and the whole García clan provided a necessary social network. Aníbal Barreño generously shared his historic maps and images which form the base of many of the city maps in this dissertation and his beautiful family. I must also thank the staff at the Santa Catedral de Cienfuegos, especially Jesús and Susana Teresa García Roldán, who allowed me access to the baptismal, marriage and death registries kept by the church. I am grateful to the Bishop of Cienfuegos for granting me permission to view the parochial records. Marilú, Carla, Adrián, Mayíto, and el Mostro provided hospitality during my first trip to Cienfuegos, while Estrella was the eccentric landlord with whom I spend several summers. In Havana, the staff of the Archivo Nacional de Cuba, especially Julio, Silvio and Orleana provided access to important collections. Brian Sardiñas and the rest of the crew dealt with my numerous requests for materials and brought me so many large dusty boxes of documents. The staff at the Cuban Heritage Collection at the University of Miami provided generous support for my research and writing. Esperanza B. de Varona, Lesbia O. Varona, Annie Sansone, and many others were instrumental in identifying collections and provided a network of support for my research. Rosa Monzón went above and beyond her duties to provide access to the materials I needed. Over the three years we worked together, we developed a strong friendship and I was fortunate to share time with her vii wonderful family, especially Milja. My time at the Cuban Heritage Collection was more than just a rich space for scholarship and exchange. It was an opportunity to become part of the CHC family. The Massachusetts Historical Society also generously funded my research. The wonderful staff, especially Conrad Wright and Kate Viens, welcomed me into a vibrant scholarly community, out of which many ideas and friendships emerged, including Nicole George. The Department of History provided financial support and a vibrant intellectual community and a supportive environment for growth. I especially appreciate the amazing set of faculty who have shared their time and ideas with me and supported my research and teaching. My committee provided valuable feedback on my ideas and gave me considerable food for thought in future projects. The constant positive reinforcement and help from Dr. Joseph Glathaar, Dr. Lindsay, Dr. Jerma Jackson, Dr. Heather Williams among others has made my time at UNC incredibly enriching and memorable. The Institute for the Study of the Americas at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has also provided funding for my research, without which my numerous trips to Cuba and other archives across the United States would not have been possible. These two communities, as well as the scholars of TAAHC, the Afro-Latin America Working Group, the Anthropology Department, especially Dr. Anna Agbe-Davies, and Teresa Chapa at Davis Library have made my time at UNC fruitful and enjoyable. I wish to acknowledge the centrality of my small but incredibly supportive social network in accompanying me on this journey. My two Sara(h)s—Sara Juengst and Sarah Barksdale—have been cherished friends. Sara and the whole Pinard-Juengst clan have adopted me and made me feel a sense of belonging that I thought was not possible so far viii away from Richmond, California. Sarah has been my trusty dissertating partner since we met in NARA II one summer. Finally, my mother, who has believed in me even when my own confidence was shaken, provided the needed strength to get through the difficult moments. For all these people and the many more who I have undoubtedly forgotten, I thank you for your support. Bonnie A. Lucero Chapel Hill, April 2013 ix TABLE OF CONTENTS IMAGES .......................................................................................................................... xiv MAPS ............................................................................................................................... xvi TABLES ......................................................................................................................... xvii ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................... xviii INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 Microhistory and the Microcosm of Cienfuegos........................................................... 12 Masculinity and the Measures of Citizenship ............................................................... 17 A Note on Sources........................................................................................................