University of Pittsburgh Press Murder in San Isidro: Crime and Culture during the Second Cuban Republic Author(s): MAYRA BEERS Source: Cuban Studies, Vol. 34 (2003), pp. 97-129 Published by: University of Pittsburgh Press Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24487879 Accessed: 30-03-2019 19:37 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms University of Pittsburgh Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Cuban Studies This content downloaded from 129.171.178.63 on Sat, 30 Mar 2019 19:37:34 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms MAYRA BEERS Murder in San Isidro: Crime and Culture during the Second Cuban Republic ABSTRACT This article uses the murder of a well-known politician in Cuba, Alberto Yarini y Ponce de Leôn, who was also a celebrated pimp, to delve into questions of national identity and nationalist discourse. The theoretical framework relies on the importance of gender images and prostitution in nation-building rhetoric, arguing that these matters have been used in support of political interests. Its methodology analyzes the tensions and ambiva lence surrounding Cuban national identity in the first two decades of the republic.