Synopses & Reviews
In the Cuban town of Sagua la Grande, a young Roberto Gonzand#225;lez Echevarrand#237;a peers out the window of his family home on the morning of the Nochebuena fiesta as preparations begin for the slaughter of a feast day pig. The author recalls and#8220;watching them at a distance, though thinking, fearing, that once I grew older I would have to participate in the whole event.and#8221; Now an acclaimed scholar of Latin American literature, Gonzand#225;lez Echevarrand#237;a returns to the rituals that defined his young life in
Cuban Fiestas. Drawing from art, literature, film, and even the national sport of baseball, he vividly reveals the fiesta as a dynamic force of both destruction and renewal in the life of a people.
Roberto Gonzand#225;lez Echevarrand#237;a masterfully exposes the distinctive elements of the fiesta cubana that give depth and coherence to more than two centuries of Cuban cultural life. Reaching back to nineteenth-century traditions of Cuban art and literature, and augmenting them, in the twentieth, with the arts of narrative, the esthetic performances of sport and entertainment in nightclubs, on the baseball diamond, and in movie theaters, Cuban Fiestas renders the lilting strains of the fiesta and drum beats of the passage of time as keys to understanding the dynamic quality of Cuban culture. Gonzand#225;lez Echevarrand#237;aand#8217;s explorations are also illuminated by autobiographical vignettes that unveil the ever-shifting impact of the fiesta on the authorand#8217;s own story of exile and return.
Review
"A jewel of a book, written by a Renaissance man. At once learned and passionate,
Cuban Fiestas is a meditation on art and its engagement with time and place, those two vectors that intersect in our minds and hearts and determine who we are."and#8212;Carlos Eire, author of
Waiting for Snow in HavanaReview
and#8220;Roberto Gonzand#225;lez Echevarrand#237;a is the leading critic of Hispanic literatureand#8212;American and Iberianand#8212;now living.andnbsp; His synthesis of contemporary critical modes with the classical and romantic traditions of interpretation is original and influential.andnbsp; As a mediator between Spanish language and English language literatures, he is beyond comparison.and#8221;and#8212;Harold Bloom
Review
"In
Cuban Fiestas, Roberto González Echevarría shows that the
fiesta cubana, as represented in classic paintings, memorialized in Cuban novels both early and late, re-enacted in nightclubs and on film, and even performed on the field of dreams of Cubas national sport of baseball, is a presence whose force, despite history and within history, stands tall and prevails."—Rolena Adorno author
The Polemics of Possession in Spanish American Narrative Edmundo Paz Sold�n
Review
"This combination of personal anecdote and traditional literary criticism makes for interesting reading. The book is comprehensive, providing an encyclopedia account of Cuban fiestas. . . . Exciting and well researched, this book is a must for those interested in the Caribbean and Cuba."—R. Ocasio, CHOICE Rolena Adorno
Synopsis
A luminous history of Cuba's most dynamic and defining rituals and the ever-improvisational character of Cuban culture
In the Cuban town of Sagua la Grande, a young Roberto Gonz lez Echevarr a peers out the window of his family home on the morning of the Nochebuena fiesta as preparations begin for the slaughter of a feast day pig. The author recalls "watching them at a distance, though thinking, fearing, that once I grew older I would have to participate in the whole event." Now an acclaimed scholar of Latin American literature, Gonz lez Echevarr a returns to the rituals that defined his young life in Cuban Fiestas. Drawing from art, literature, film, and even the national sport of baseball, he vividly reveals the fiesta as a dynamic force of both destruction and renewal in the life of a people.
Roberto Gonz lez Echevarr a masterfully exposes the distinctive elements of the fiesta cubana that give depth and coherence to more than two centuries of Cuban cultural life. Reaching back to nineteenth-century traditions of Cuban art and literature, and augmenting them, in the twentieth, with the arts of narrative, the esthetic performances of sport and entertainment in nightclubs, on the baseball diamond, and in movie theaters, Cuban Fiestas renders the lilting strains of the fiesta and drum beats of the passage of time as keys to understanding the dynamic quality of Cuban culture. Gonz lez Echevarr a's explorations are also illuminated by autobiographical vignettes that unveil the ever-shifting impact of the fiesta on the author's own story of exile and return.
About the Author
Roberto Gonzand#225;lez Echevarrand#237;a is Sterling Professor of Hispanic and Comparative Literature at Yale. He is author of The Pride of Havana: A History of Cuban Baseball, as well as major studies of Cervantes, Carpentier, Garcand#237;a Mand#225;rquez, and Sarduy.