THE MULATA AFFECT: BIOREMEDIATION IN THE CUBAN ARTS by Stephen A. Cruikshank A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in SPANISH AND LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies University of Alberta © Stephen A. Cruikshank, 2018 ii Abstract The "mulata affect" may be understood as the repetitive process and movement of power and affect qualified in the mulata image over time. Through a lens of affect theory this study seeks to analyse how the mulata image in Cuba has historically been affected by, and likewise affected, cultural expressions and artistic representations. Relying on a theory of "bioremediation" this study proposes that the racialized body of the mulata, which is remediated through artistic images, consistently holds the potential to affect both national and exotic interpretations of her body and of Cuban culture. Four different artistic expressions of the mulata image are discussed. Beginning in the early twentieth century various artistic mediums are explored in the contexts of the mulata in the paintings of Carlos Enríquez's and the rumbera [rumba dancer] in the graphic illustrations of Conrado Massaguer. In addition, images of the miliciana [the militant woman] in the photography of Alberto Korda following the onset of Cuban Revolution and the jinetera [the sex-worker] in Daniel Díaz Torres film La película de Ana (2012) are discussed. Through an analysis of these four different expressions of the mulata body, this study seeks to expose a genealogy of the mulata image in art and, in doing so, reveal the ongoing visual changes and affective workings of the racialized female body that has contributed to the designations of Cuban culture and identity over time. iii We are dealing obviously with an unpredictable society that originated in the most violent currents and eddies of modern history where sexual and class differences are overlaid with differences of an ethnographic nature. — Antonio Benítez Rojo No matter who restages the colonial encounter from the West's perspective—the novelist, the playwright, the discoverer, or the government official—it stars the same white male protagonist-subject and the same brown, found "object." — Diana Taylor Because certain mulaticized bodies (depending on their phenotype and how closely it approximated whiteness) could move through varying spaces of (ambiguous) racial identity and domesticity, one might position the mulata as a woman with a certain degree of access. — Melissa Blanco Borelli iv Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for the incredible financial support I received through a three year doctoral fellowship grant towards this research. I am grateful, as well, to the the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the Graduate Student's Association, and the benefactors of the José Varela Travel Grant at the University of Alberta for the financial aid I received to attend a research conference in Columbia Missouri in 2016, and to travel for research and conference presentation work in Cuba in 2017. Both these experiences proved extremely beneficial to the completion of this research. I also want to acknowledge the dedicated work and patience of my dissertation committee: To Dr. Russell Cobb for his supervision and constant support— hasta la tesis para siempre; to Dr. Victoria Ruétalo for her incredible support and thorough readings, edits, and guidance in my work, and to Dr. Sourayan Mookerjea for his advanced insight into theoretical implications of my work and for providing me the early inspiration of this project. I want to furthermore thank the staff and faculty at the department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of Alberta for the ongoing collaboration, teaching opportunities, and research support that I have received throughout my doctoral degree. Last, but absolutely not least, I want to give credit to my wife Dara-Ann who has been a pillar of support and a constant source of encouragement during my doctoral program and my ongoing passion for academic research. v Table Of Contents: Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv List of Figures vi Introduction: The Mulata Image: From Representation to Affect 1 Chapter 1: The National Body: The Mulata and the Paintings 37 of Carlos Enríquez Chapter 2: The Commercialized Body: The Rumbera and the 82 Graphic art of Conrado Massaguer Chapter 3: The Revolutionary Body: The Miliciana and the 132 Photography of Alberto Korda Chapter 4: The Economized Body: The Jinetera and Daniel Díaz Torres' 182 film La Película de Ana Conclusion: The After-Affect: Re-envisioning the Mulata Image 236 Bibliography 248 vi List of Figures Figure 1.1 Victor Manuel García, La Gitana Trópical (1929) 52 Figure 1.2 Carlos Enríquez, Dos Ríos (1939) 55 Figure 1.3 Carlos Enríquez, Las tetas de la guajira (1945) 55 Figure 1.4 Carlos Enríquez, Bandolero Criollo (1943) 56 Figure 1.5 Carlos Enríquez, Caballos y Mujer (1952) 56 Figure 1.6 Carlos Enríquez, El rapto de las mulatas (1938) 61 Figure 1.7 Carlos Enríquez, Trópico (1945) 65 Figure 1.8 Carlos Enríquez, Cortadoras de Caña (ca. 1945-1946) 68 Figure 1.9 Carlos Enríquez, Mulata a la luz de la luna (1952) 68 Figure 1.10 Carlos Enríquez, Mulata (1947) 71 Figure 1.11 Carlos Enríquez, El desposo (1956) 74 Figure 1.12 Carlos Enríquez, La danza de la mulata (1956) 74 Figure 2.1 Carlos Enríquez, Illustration I from Nicólas Guillén's El son entero (1947) 94 Figure 2.2 Carlos Enríquez, Illustration II from Nicólas Guillén's El son entero (1947) 94 Figure 2.3 Carlos Enríquez, Illustration III from Nicólas Guillén's El son entero (1947) 94 Figure 2.4 Conrado Massaguer, "Massaguer-icatures" (1929) 104 Figure 2.5 Conrado Massaguer, Illustration of a Tourist Festival (1929) 104 Figure 2.6 Conrado Massaguer, "Los Precursores de Jazz" (1925). 108 Figure 2.7 Conrado Massaguer, Photo of illustration "Después de la rumba" (1931) 108 Figure 2.8 Conrado Massaguer, illustration of rumbera dancing for politicians (1939) 110 Figure 2.9 Conrado Massaguer, "Visit Cuba" postcard illustration (ca. 1950) 112 Figure 2.10 Conrado Massaguer, "Welcome to Cuba" guidebook illustration (1955) 112 Figure 2.11 Instituto Cubano del Turismo, "Cuba Ideal Vacation Land" (1953-1954) 115 Figure 2.12 Havana: The Magazine of Cuba, "La Playa: 39 Hours from New York" (1930) 115 Figure 2.13 Havana: The Magazine of Cuba, "Smart America Discovers La Playa" (1929) 116 Figure 2.14 Havana: The Magazine of Cuba, "Just a Step from Winter to Summer" (1929) 116 Figure 2.15 Walt Munsen, "A toast to the land of good cheer. " (1929) 120 Figure 2.16 Cuban National Tourist Commission, "Cuba Exquisite Isle of Delight" (1929) 120 Figure 2.17 The Sevilla Biltmore Hotel, "Havana Europe Over Night" (1929) 120 Figure 2.18 Conde Nast Publications, "A Compact Guide to Cuba" (1929) 122 Figure 2.19 Conde Nast Publications, Cropped Image of the "black boys" (1929) 123 Figure 2.20 Conde Nast Publications, Cropped Image of the "bombo" (1929) 123 Figure 2.21 Conrado Massaguer, January 1st Cover of Havana: The Magazine of Cuba (1929) 125 Figure 2.22 Conrado Massaguer, January 26th Cover of Havana: The Magazine of Cuba (1930) 125 Figure 2.23 Conrado Massaguer, March Cover of Havana: The Magazine of Cuba (1929) 125 vii Figure 2.24 Conrado Massaguer, January Cover of Havana: The Magazine of Cuba (1930) 125 Figure 2.25 Conrado Massaguer, March Cover of Havana: The Magazine of Cuba (1930) 126 Figure 2.26 Conrado Massaguer, January Cover of Havana: The Magazine of Cuba (1930) 126 Figure 2.27 Conrado Massaguer, February Cover of Havana: The Magazine of Cuba (1929) 127 Figure 2.28 René Portocarrero, Brujo (1945) 127 Figure 2.29 Carlos Enríquez, El rapto de las mulatas (1938) 129 Figure 2.30 Conrado Massaguer, "Cuba at the World's Fair" (1939) 129 Figure 3.1 Alberto Korda, Guerrillero Heroíco (1960) 136 Figure 3.2 Alberto Korda, Miliciana, La Habana (ca. 1962) 136 Figure 3.3 Alberto Korda, Mujeres Maquillándose (ca. 1960-1962) 138 Figure 3.4 Alberto Korda, Photo of woman in bandana (1964) 138 Figure 3.5 Alberto Korda, Photo of milicianas marching (1961) 138 Figure 3.6 Alberto Korda, Photo of milicianas in column formation (1967) 138 Figure 3.7 Korda Studios, "!exquisitamente Mas Seco!" Bacardi Advertisement (1968) 147 Figure 3.8 Alberto Korda, "Silvana en la Habana." Photo for Cine Personalidades (1959) 147 Figure 3.9 Alberto Korda, "Cine Bellezas" photo of actress (1960) 147 Figure 3.10 Alberto Korda, Norka (ca. 1956-1958) 148 Figure 3.11 Alberto Korda, Nidia (ca. 1956) 148 Figure 3.12 Alberto Korda, Norka, La Habana (ca. 1956-1958) 150 Figure 3.13 Alberto Korda, Sierra Maestra, 1962 (1962) 150 Figure 3.14 Previous FMC logo until 2007 171 Figure 3.15 Current FMC logo with a photo of Vilma Espín 171 Figure 4.1 Screenshot of actress Laura de Uz as "Ana" 207 Figure 4.2 Screenshot of Ana (Uz) acting as the jinetera Ginette 207 Figure 4.3 Screenshot of wooden hanging "Actuar es encuerar el alma" 217 Figure 4.4 Screenshot of Flavia's glass eye 223 Figure 4.5 Screenshot of Flavia handing Vergara a photo of St. Lucy 223 Figure 4.6 Screenshot of dolphin trainer peering through the glass 227 Figure 4.7 Screenshot of dolphins' eyes fixed on Ana and Flavia 227 Figure 4.8 Screenshot of "Melancolía" metatext. 228 Figure 4.9 Screenshot of Vergara watching Ana's role in a telenovela 228 Figure 4.10 Screenshot of Ana redirecting the camera to tourists 231 Figure 4.11 Screenshot of Ana redirecting the camera to the audience 231 Figure 4.12 Screenshot of Ana acting out the "folkloric whore." 233 Figure 5.1 "Palma Mulata de Cuba" rum bottle label.