CUBAN IMMIGRANTS FT. CARMELITA TROPICANA BY: MICHAL BAGINSKI CUBAN CIVIL WAR ❑THE REVOLUTION BEGAN 1952 WHEN ARMY SERGEANT FULGENCIO BATISTA SEIZED POWER DURING AN ELECTION

❑BATISTA WAS PRESIDENT FROM 1940-1944 AND RAN FOR PRESIDENT IN 1952

❑FEAR OF LOSING THE ELECTION, BATISTA SEIZED POWER BEFORE THE ELECTIONS

❑ONE PERSON WHOM WAS DISGUSTED AND A RISING POLITICAL STAR WAS FIDEL CASTRO

❑HE WOULD OF MOST LIKELY WON A SEAT IN CONGRESS HAD THE ELECTIONS TAKEN PLACE

❑CASTRO IMMEDIATELY BEGAN PLOTTING BATISTA'S DOWNFALL OVERTHROW OF BATISTA ❑ U.S. GOVERNMENT BACKED BATISTA BECAUSE OF CASTRO'S LEFTIST IDEOLOGY AND FEAR OF ATTACKS ON THE U.S.’S SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS AND PROPERTY IN CUBA.

❑ JANUARY 1ST, 1959, CUBAN DICTATOR FULGENCIO BATISTA FLEES THE ISLAND NATION OF FEAR THE POPULAR REVOLUTION CALLED THE 26TH OF JULY MOVEMENT, LED BY FIDEL CASTRO.

❑ U.S.’S ATTITUDE TOWARD THE REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT CHANGED FROM CAUTIOUSLY SUSPICIOUS TO DOWNRIGHT HOSTILE AS CASTRO NATIONALIZED THE AMERICAN OWNED PROPERTY, ALLIED HIMSELF WITH THE COMMUNIST PARTY AND GREW FRIENDLIER WITH THE SOVIET UNION (AMERICANS COLD WAR ENEMY)

❑ AS A RESPONSE, THE U.S. ENACTED A TRADE AND TRAVEL EMBARGO WHICH LASTED UNTIL 2015. ❑ IN APRIL 1961, THE U.S. LAUNCHED THE BAY OF PIGS INVASION, AN UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO REMOVE CASTRO FROM POWER WAVE OF IMMIGRANTS

❑THERE HAVE BEEN 4 DISTINCT WAVES OF CUBAN IMMIGRANTS TO THE U.S. - 1959-1962 - 1965-1974 - 1980 - 1989-2009 FIRST AND SECOND WAVE ❑ FIRST WAVE (1959-1962) -BECAUSE OF THE RISE OF FIDEL CASTRO, MANY CUBANS WERE UNHAPPY WITH POLITICS AT HOME AND FLED TO THE UNITED STATES -PRIMARILY UPPER AND UPPER-MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES FLED TO PROTECT THEIR ASSETS -OTHERS FOLLOWED THEIR FAMILIES TO NOT BE SEPARATED -PARENTS FEARED THAT CHILDREN WERE GOING TO BE SENT TO SOVIET BLOC COUNTRIES TO BE EDUCATED -ABOUT 215,000 CUBANS IMMIGRATED

❑ SECOND WAVE (1965-1974) -DEPARTURE PROGRAMS ADMINISTERED BY THE U.S AND CUBAN GOVERNMENTS CALLED “FREEDOM FLIGHTS” BROUGHT MIDDLE AND WORKING CLASS CUBANS TO THE UNITED STATES -CUBAN POPULATION IN U.S. GREW SIX FOLD FROM 79,000 TO 439,000! THIRD AND FOURTH WAVE

❑ THIRD WAVE (1980) -IMMIGRANTS THAT WANTED TO ❑ FOURTH WAVE (1989-2009) ESCAPE THE COMMUNIST TYRANNY WERE CALLED MARIELITO'S -BEGAN AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF COMMUNISM AND TIGHTENING OF THE U.S. EMBARGO -FIDEL CASTRO SENT 20,000

CUBANS DIRECTLY FROM PRISON AND -33,000 IMMIGRATED TO U.S. DUE TO TRADE MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE FROM CUBAN RELATIONS WITH SOVIET UNION MENTAL INSTITUTIONS TO CLEAN UP

CUBA AND “POISON” THE U.S. -BALSEROS, OR RAFTERS, FLOATED TO FLORIDA - THE U.S. LABELED THEM AS ON BOATS THEY CREATED “INADMISSIBLE” AND WERE SENT BACK -WET FOOT, DRY FOOT POLICY STATES THAT ANYONE WHO FLED CUBA AND GOT IN TO THE UNITED STATES WOULD BE ALLOWED TO PURSUE RESIDENCY A YEAR LATER BUT ANYONE CAUGHT IN WATER WOULD BE SENT BACK CUBAN PROTECTION UNDER U.S

❑UNLIKE OTHER IMMIGRANT GROUPS, CUBANS WERE TREATED LENIENTLY. IN 1966, CONGRESS PASSED THE CAA OR THE CUBAN ADJUSTMENT ACT. THIS ACT ALLOWED CUBANS TO BE LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENTS AFTER BEING A RESIDENT FOR AT LEAST A YEAR. CUBANS IN THE U.S.

❑CUBANS PREFERRED TO MIGRATE TO MAINLY FLORIDA HOWEVER THERE ARE ALSO POPULATIONS IN NEW YORK.

❑MIAMI IS RESPONSIBLE TO 65% OF THE CUBAN POPULATION, TO THE POINT THE CUBAN COMMUNITIES BEGAN CALLING IT “LITTLE HAVANA”.

❑TOWARDS THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY, CUBANS BEGAN TO SETTLE IN KEY WEST WHERE THEY ONCE BUILT A RAILROAD, AND NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, WHERE THEY PLAYED AN INFLUENTIAL ROLE IN THE JAZZ MUSIC NEW ORLEANS WAS KNOWN FOR. CUBAN INFLUENCES TO U.S. ❑ A POPULAR FORM OF CUBAN ART WAS KNOWN AS NAIVE ART BY THE NORTH AMERICANS. ❑ THEY SHOWED CHILDLIKE FEATURES AND AMATEURISH QUALITIES, ALMOST CARTOONS. ❑ COLORS TENDED TO BE VIVID WITH VIBRANT HUES OF CUBANS TROPICAL HOME. ❑ CUBANS USED NAIVE ART AS A WAY TO PORTRAY ENJOYMENT OF LIFE DESPITE ITS HARDSHIPS. ❑ AN NEW YORK ARTIST WHO USES SIMILAR STYLE OF ART IS KNOWN AS KEITH HARING. ❑ CUBAN MUSIC BLENDS SPANISH AND AFRICAN QUALITIES FOR A TRADITIONAL BUT POPULAR MUSIC.

❑ CUBANS RUMBA, BOLERO AND SALSA WERE COMMON DANCES FOR THE CULTURE. THE CUBAN FOLK ANTHEM “GUANTANAMO” DERIVES FROM A POEM BY JOSE MARTI IS HEARD FREQUENTLY IN LATIN AMERICA.

❑ A WELL KNOWN INFLUENCE TO THEATRE AND ART IS … CARMELITA TROPICANA ❑ Alina Troyano, or as she is more commonly known as Carmelita Tropicana is a Cuban-American stage and film actress, playwright, lecturer and Latina comedian based.

❑ She has a sense of humor, multiple personas, some might even think she’s insane, and her name is Carmelita Tropicana. Carmelita Tropicana, the self-proclaimed "songbird of Cuba,"

❑ She was born in Cuba in 1951 and later moved to New York City in the 80s, where she made a name for herself. Ever since she was a teenager, she had an interest of doing theatre.

❑ The WOW Cafe is the beginning of a new era for Carmelita Tropicana. This beginning is what sparked her multiple personas. One of her most known personas, is Alina Troyano. People even mention her personas as if they are completely different people CONTINUED … ❑ THE PURPOSE OF HER MULTIPLE PERSONAS TO BE ABLE TO CREATE SEPARATE IDENTITIES BASED ON HER PRESENCE OF BEING ON STAGE OR NOT. ON STAGE SHE WAS KNOWN AS THE FEARFUL ALINA TROYANO, ENABLING A LATINA STEREOTYPE AS HETEROSEXUAL BOMBSHELL, YET SHE IS LESBIAN AS CARMELITA. ❑ IN A FEW OF HER PERFORMANCES, CARMELITA IS KNOWN FOR DRESSING UP AS A MALE DRAG. ❑ IN THE ACT, SHE PLAYS THE MAN PINGALITO BETANCOURT WEARING MALE DRAG. SHE WOULD USE AN ACCENT TO PLAY THE ROLE AND WORE TYPICAL MALE CLOTHING WITH A HAT, CIGAR AND GLASSES. ❑ Surprisingly, New York was not the only place where she was well known for her performances and art. Her plays, videos and performances have been presented at venues all around the globe.

❑ The Institute of Contemporary Art in London, Hebbel Am Ufer in Berlin, Centre de Cultura Contemporánea in Barcelona, the Berlin International Film Festival, the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, the Mark Taper Forum Kirk Douglas Theater in Los Angeles, Center for LGBTQ Studies in New York, and El Museo del Barrio in New York WORKS AND AWARDS ❑CARMELITA TROPICANA DIRECTED AND CREATED A LARGE AMOUNT OF WORKS IN HER LIFE. A FEW ARE “CARMELITA TROPICANA: YOUR KUNST IS YOUR WAFFEN”, “MILK OF AMNESIA”, “SINGLE WET FEMALE”, “WITH WHAT ASS DOES THE COCKROACH SIT?”, AND “THE BOX”

❑MILK OF AMNESIA- SHE LEARNED TO DRINK THE MILK IN AMERICA AND FORGET THE SWEET MILK OF CUBA. HER MILK OF AMNESIA HAD THUS BEGUN VERY EARLY IN HER NEW HOMELAND.

❑SHE HAS RECEIVED A FEW AWARDS THROUGHOUT HER LIFE, SUCH AS THE OBIE FOR SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE IN PERFORMANCE IN 1999, THE ANONYMOUS WAS A WOMEN IN 2005 AND CREATIVE CAPITAL AWARD IN 2016. CARMELITA TROPICANA PERFORMANCES CONNECTION TO NEW YORK CARMELITA HAS A STRONG CONNECTION WITH NEW YORK. EVER SINCE SHE HAD MOVED TO THE BIG APPLE, IT WAS THE

BEGINNING OF HER DREAMS OF THEATRE. IF SHE HAD NEVER WENT TO THE WOW, THEN WHO KNOWS WHAT SHE WOULD

BE DOING AT THIS POINT. CARMELITA IS SIMILAR TO LADY GAGA, BOTH HAVING GROWN UP IN NEW YORK CITY AND THE

LOWER EAST SIDE. THEY BOTH CAME TO IMAGE THROUGH THEIR EARLY PERFORMANCES IN CAFES AND SMALL SHOPS IN

THE CITY .THE CITY IS WHAT SPARKED THEIR CAREERS AND THEY BOTH USE THEIR PLATFORM OF ART TO RAISE

AWARENESS TO THEIR VIEWS OF FEMINISM AND THE LGBT COMMUNITY. BOTH HAVE VERY UNIQUE AND UNCOMMON

STYLES OF ART. LADY GAGA DID NOT CARE WHAT OTHERS SEE OF HER AND CARMELITA SHARES THE SAME MENTALITY.

THEY BOTH HAVE THEIR WEIRD, CRAZY SIDES, AND HAVING UNIQUE FORMS OF EXPRESSING THEIR ART.