Cervantes y Cuba: aspectos de una tradición literaria por Alberto Rodríguez.
It is not widely known that Cuba has had a long, abundant, and distinguished tradition of cervantine studies. Since colonial days, Cuban writers and scholars have demonstrated a very special interest in Cervantes’ life and works. Cervantes has had an important role in Cuban literary criticism and also in Cuban intellectual history.
In Cervantes y Cuba, Alberto Rodríguez studies a period beginning with the year 1873, when Enrique José Varona wrote his first essays on Cervantes, and concludes with the works of Jorge Mañach and Medardo Vitier in the early 1950’s. These years are rich in essays that deal with Cervantes and Don Quijote. Cuban writers and scholars found important themes in Cervantes that they could relate to the particular social and political circumstances of Cuba. Two central themes of Cervantes’ great novel are of vital importance for the Cubans: the search for freedom and the dignity of the common man. The essays of the Cuban writers and scholars bring to the fore in various ways the need to achieve a free and egalitarian form of life for the nation, while, at the same time, they elevate the presence of the ordinary person by considering him a most important element for the well-being of the country. For these scholars, freedom is essential; they also believe that the honest and dedicated labor of the common man could create a good future for the country. These two themes are fundamental for Cuban cervantine scholarship.
The experience of the Cuban cervantine scholars has been influenced by the long struggle against colonialism and neocolonialism. Consequently, the critical thrust of these scholars has a strong postcolonial tendency. In various ways and with varying intensities, the Cuban scholars react to the rule of Spanish colonial power in Cuba and also to some extent to the influence of the United States on the island. Through Cervantes they present the aspirations and hopes of a new nation that has suffered for a long time under the impositions of foreign powers. The writings of these scholars contribute in significant ways to establish the Cuban identity.
The conflict between Cuban cervantine scholars' love for Cuba and their profound link to Spanish culture is examined, particularly in regards to the postcolonial situation. Some of these scholars have contrasting emotions which they express clearly in their essays due to their intense loyalty to Cuba and respect for Spain.
Rodríguez studies the postcolonial characteristics of Cuban cervantine scholarship. Through Cervantes and his works, the Cuban thinkers and scholars consider the situation of their homeland and the identity of the nation.
This book is written in Spanish.
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Series: Documentación cervantina, 33
ISBN: 978-1-58871-176-2 (HB, 233 pp.) $45