Cuban immigration over the lifetime of Celia: 1909 to 1980

The novel Dreaming in Cuban by Christina Garcia discuses the lives of several generations of the del Pino family women. The matriarch, Celia, has lived a life full of experiences, both good and bad. She has seen a lot happen to Cuba and how it has affected those around her, both in Cuba and her family who have left for life in the United States. Through Celia the impact of the Castro regime is seen on Cuba and its citizens. At the end, the difficulties with immigration and emigration are shown through Ivanito. Her daughter and granddaughter, Lourdes and Pilar, live in the United States and have the perspective of those that have escaped Castro. They don’t visit Celia until the end of the novel for both personal and political reasons. While politics plays a large role in this novel, it is not often explained well, especially when dealing with immigration.

1909 – 1959

            In 1910, one year after Celia was born, the number of Cubans living in the United States was around 15,000. During this time there was no limit on the number of Cubans that immigrated to the U.S.  The immigrating Cubans even had an easier time of obtaining residency, a luxury not given to other immigrant groups (History of Cuban Immigration to the United States).  At this time Cuba was not treated any differently than any other country in terms of immigration. For this time period the immigration was affected by polices that were not directed solely at Cubans, but policies that impacted any citizens from any country. One example of this was the Walter-McCarran Act of 1952 (Eckstein and Barberia, 2001).

            This Act, also called the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, established quota systems for regions and nationalities, along with a preference system. The act also defined types of immigrants: those with special skills or relatives that are American citizens, average immigrants to whom quotas were applied, and refugees. The other important establishment made by this act was that the government could now decline entry to those involved in subversive activities, one of which would include being involved with the Communist Party (Rosenfield, 1958). This is important when looking at Cuban immigration because following the revolution in 1959 Cuba was considered a communist nation. The act also allowed for those who wished to escape communism to have an easier experience with immigration. However, during the pre-revolutionary period Cuba was treated the same as the other Caribbean and Latin America countries.

            The political atmosphere in Cuba during this time was one on the verge of change. Until the revolution Cuba was closely observed by the United States. It was a place where there was cheap labor for sugar and tobacco production, as well as a sort of playground for wealthy North Americans and had a strong Mafia presence. Cuba also had a history of dictators during this period. Gerardo Machado ruled with a regime of terror and suppression for 9 years. Machado was followed by Fulgencio Batista, who ruled from 1934 to 1959. During the years under these dictator’s there remained a gap between the wealthy and the poor. The communist party was active in the political game as well, organizing some of the protests that removed Machado. During Batista’s rule the Cuban Communist Party focused on national issues and the national interest, leading to government takeover of the party and its subsequent banning (Binns and Gonzalez, 1980).

            The time period of 1909-1959 did not focus greatly on the relationship between the United States and Cuba. The policies of the time were in response to global influences. The Immigration and Nationality act of 1952 set quotas for immigration from different regions of the world into the United States, as well as enabling the United States to not permit criminals to come into the country. This was used to keep out Communists during the time when there was much fear of the ideas of communism in the United States. It also allowed for the rescuing of those who wished to escape communism in their own countries. This ties into Cuba where despite having dictators, there was a strong communist presence for much of this time. In Cuba there was a lot of fear and suppression, and while there were not specific laws against them not immigrating to the United States the communist presence allowed for some to immigrate easily. Soon the communist movement would create many barriers for political relations and immigration between the two countries.

1959-1980

            1959 was a year of changes for both Cuba and the United States. In this year a revolution occurred in Cuba and Fidel Castro came to power, and he brought communism with him. As discussed before, communism is nothing new to Cuba, but this was the first time it was the major player on the political stage.

            By the time of the revolution in 1959 there were about 124,000 Cubans living in the United States. This is quite a large increase since 1910. Not everyone supported the revolution and many of those people left before too much could happen, most of these were wealthy Cubans seeking to protect themselves and their money. There was an influx of Cubans in the very early years of the revolution; about 215,000 immigrated to the United States during this time (History of Cuban Immigration to the United States). From 1959 to 1994 the U.S. has had a somewhat free entry policy towards Cuban immigrants, especially those that were trying to escape the communism that was occurring in Cuba at the time. Even since the countries have ceased diplomatic relations in 1961, Cubans are allowed into the U.S. on a parole basis without the need for a visa, even if they arrived illegally (Travieso-Diaz, 1998).

            1961 was a turning point in the history of the relationship between Cuba and the U.S.; it was in that year that the attack of the Bay of Pigs occurred. It is around this time that Lourdes and her family leave Cuba for the U.S. The Bay of Pigs was an agreement between the U.S. and Cuban revolutionaries to oust Castro from power. The U.S. was supposed to provide military support for the revolutionary militias, however this did not occur as planned. Local militias defeated the fighters and the U.S. pulled out from the engagement (Vandenbroucke, 1984). This action lead to increased support of Castro and his regime. Following this incident the U.S. began to sever ties with Cuba, the government started by banning all tourism. This loss began to affect the economic structure of Cuba, some people left Cuba during this time. The Cuban people during this political drama were very supportive of Castro and his leadership (Binns and Gonzalez, 1980). In response to the increased immigration the U.S. initiated the Cuban Refugee Program to help those entering the country. In 1962 the Migration and Refugee act allowed for Cubans who immigrated to the U.S., legally or illegally, to be treated as refugees (Eckstein and Barberia, 2001).

            The next change in the immigration relationship between the U.S. and Cuba occurred in 1965-1966. In 1965 the U.S. engaged in Freedom Flights under the Memorandum of Understanding, these flights consisted of flying several thousand Cubans to the U.S. Priority was given to those with families that had already left Cuba (Eckstein and Barberia, 2001). In 1966 the Cuban Refugee Act was passed, this act allowed for Cubans who had been living in the U.S. to obtain permanent residency status. This meant that Cubans who had been living in the U.S. for a year could apply to gain residency status, regardless of how they obtained entry into the U.S., an opportunity not given to other groups of immigrants at the time (Wasem, 2009).

            One of the last scenes in the novel discusses the Mariel boatlift crisis that occurred in 1979 to 1980. The crisis began when 12 people, who were seeking asylum in the Venezuelan Embassy, crashed into the embassy using a bus. The scene in the book takes place on a day several months into the crisis that another bus driver crashed into the gates of the Venezuelan Embassy in an effort to gain asylum for the people on the bus, in the process of this attempt a Cuban guard was killed. Over the next couple of months others try to gain entry, but are rarely successful. Eventually another group of 12 gains asylum, but the Cuban government refuses to grant permission for those who forced their way into an Embassy to leave the country.  Finally, the Cuban government allows those in the Embassy to leave and states that anyone else who wishes to leave may go to the Embassy as well, over 10,000 respond to this and arrive at the Embassy. About 6,200 refugees are airlifted to the U.S. (Document 0038).

            Post-revolutionary Cuba made the world a busy place, for both its citizens and countries trying to foster relations. The Cold War atmosphere made it easy for those that wished to escape communism to do so, but also made everyone suspicious of those coming out of any communist country. The U.S. immigration policies reflect these changing ideals on how to deal with Cuban and its new leader, Castro. Initially, the U.S. served as a place for the wealthy and elite Cubans to protect the assets they had accumulated in their business ventures. However, it quickly became an escape for anyone who wished to be free from the rule of Castro. The U.S. had two major impacts on Cuba during this time. The first was the Bay of Pigs and the failed attempt to relieve Castro of his power. The second was the Mariel Boat Crisis of the 1980s where many Cubans were airlifted from the Venezuelan Embassy. Most of these occurrences are not directly outlined in the book, except for the boatlift, however these political policies played a large role in the lives of many during this time period.

            Dreaming in Cuban is a novel that focuses on the lives of several women in a family and because the family is spread out geographically these policies impact the interactions between them. The novel often glosses over many of the political subtleties that prevent the family members from traveling back and forth, but with this new background information on the politics involved in travel between the two countries the difficulties are better understood. By taking the time to gain knowledge about the political arena we can understand Celia and her passion for the revolution and what that meant for her, both what she gained and what she gave up. It also helps us to understand how and why Lourdes and her family escaped from Cuba when they did and how they became citizens in the United States. Gaining this information can only give the characters more depth and aid in understanding the novel at a deeper level.

Fuku and the History of the DR

The idea of Fuku in the novel was very interesting to me. It is not something that I really have a sense for in my culture, or that I am aware of. The closest thing I could connect it to was bad luck, but that doesn’t seem to really do the idea of Fuku justice. It is an idea that is deeply intertwined with the culture in the Dominican Republic. It is the cause of almost any bad thing that happens and what causes it may not even be that big of a deal. It is a way to explain tragedies that may have no other explanation for them.

It is also interesting that Diaz ties Fuku to the discovery of the island and the “Admiral.” Columbus thought that Hispaniola was a wonderful island, Diaz refers to it as “the Land He Loved Best.” Yet, by discovering the island he seemed to unleash the Fuku that had been contained inside of it. In the end, the Fuku caught up to the Admiral and he died insane.

By the time the Trujillo regime is in place the Fuku seems to be controlled by Trujillo himself. By thinking or acting in any manor against Trujillo a family could be cursed for several generations. He seemed to be able to control it. This is one way of trying to understand why Trujillo was in power and stayed in power for as long as he did. Diaz likens him to Sauron, who was like evil incarnate in the Lord of the Rings books.

This idea of Fuku can be connected from the landing of Columbus to Trujillo by the progression of evil that takes place. When Columbus lands he brings with him diseases and death, spread like magic throughout the DR. This evil is then maturing throughout the years and culuminates in Trujillo’s regime of terror. The only way for many to explain this is to credit it to the Fuku that has been causing evil ever since Columbus.

Celia and Blanca: Strong Women in Bodega Dreams and Dreaming in Cuban

Women play a large role in the books Bodega Dreams and Dreaming in Cuban. Blanca has just started a family and all of the sudden her family is swept up in the street life that she is trying to escape. Celia has a family that is spread all over the world. She misses them and wants them to come back to her. Celia and Blanca both have family they love and a passion that is driving a wedge between them and their families. Through these two woman we can see the beginning and ending of the matriarchs of a family. They struggle to keep their family together, keep their passions, and to live the life they imagined. 

Celia’s family has all left her except for Felicia, even though at times Felicia has left her just as much as the others despite that she lives near Celia. Lourdes left her mother to go to New York; she does not like Celia and the revolution she stands for. She felt closer to her father and when he died Ceilia could not replace what she had with him. Javier moved to Czechoslovakia to live out his dreams for the revolution and married and had a kid that Celia has never seen. Finally, her husband Jorge dies. The family that she desires is scattered and she has not even seen all of her grandchildren, which tears at her, “she wrote a special letter to Irinita encouraging her to keep up her Spanish and promising to teach her how to swim” (Garcia, 118). Blanca has her family close to her, Chino lives with her and she stayed close to the neighborhood that she grew up in. However, this physical closeness is not indicative of the closeness of her relationships, especially with Chino. With Chino, Sapo and the street life he represents are a main source of arguments; Blanca sees the neighborhood as a bad place, “here it only matters what they can break, take, or steal from you” (Quinonez, 17). This makes it hard for Blanca to talk to him when he persists to get involved in this life, even though Chino thinks he is doing it for the good of his family.

The passions that Celia and Blanca have for the revolution and the church, respectively, are a source of issues in both families and are part of the reasons their families are not as close as they would like them to be. Celia has a passion for the revolution and the emptiness that is left by her separated family causes her to jump into the cause and decide that whatever her remaining years are “she will devote to El Lieder, and give herself to his revolution” (Garcia, 44). Her passion for the cause has driven Lourdes and Pilar, to whom Celia is most connected to, away from her. Blanca’s passion in the church is a source of contention in her household. Chino doesn’t believe in the faith that is so instrumental in Blanca’s life. When she married Chino she gave up her privileged place in front of the church with her tambourine. “She hated going to church by herself” and often tried to get Chino to go with her which didn’t help their relationship much (Quinonez, 17). Yet, despite the effect their passion for the revolution or the church they would not give them up to bring their families together.

Both women wanted to better themselves and have their families close to them; this is part of the lives they imagined for themselves. Celia begins to get what she desired at the end of the novel; Lourdes, Pilar, and Javier come back for some time. However, they all end up leaving and Pilar even helps Ivanito to escape Cuba, taking him away from his grandmother. So, in the end Celia almost gets what she desires, her family all together, but in the end even those that she thought would stay with her end up leaving her and she returns to the sea. Blanca makes the choice to leave Chino until he gets his act together and decides what he wants from life. At the end of the novel she is still with her mother and we don’t learn if her feelings have changed. However, it seems as if Chino is going to make some changes in his life and that they might allow for Blanca to have the family she wants.

Celia and Blanca are two very strong women that want things that sometimes conflict. They want their families, but they also want to pursue the things they believe in. These often conflict with each other and create problems in their families. However, neither woman stops working towards what they want and show them both to be very driven. Although Celia never truly gets what she wants, in the end she comes to terms with her life and returns to the ocean that she loves. Blanca’s future is unclear but there is hope at the end of the novel that she might get the family she wanted and the better life she dreamed about.

Dreaming in Cuban

Dreaming in Cuban by Christina Garcia has been an interesting read. The book is written with a very fluid timeline, just like often occurs in dreams, which made it difficult at times to really connect with the story and understand what was going on. This has been the hardest book for me to get through and connect with so far.

One thing I really had trouble separating in this book was the mystical realism that is very present in this book and whether or not mental illness was present in some or all of the main characters of the book. There are times when other characters in the book seem to have the same difficulty in discerning this as well; Celia’s husband Jorge has her committed to a mental hospital after the birth of Lourdes. She comes home, however she has a deep tie to the sea and a passion for the revolution. Celia also shares a dream connection with Pilar, stating “She will remember everything,” making it seem as if Celia will live on through Pilar.  She seems to portray mostly the mysticism Garcia uses heavily.

The other person in this book that challenged me to try to separate the mysticism from possible mental illness was Felicita. She was drawn to the local mystical religion as well as making some very odd choices in her life. She marries her three husbands quite quickly after meeting them, and it is eluded that she has either severely hurt or killed them all. She also forgets large chunks of time and tries to kill herself and her son. These instances make me think she has more of a mental illness than her actions being a product of mysticism.

Trying to separate the mystical elements from the “real” mental illness problems reminds me of when I have dreams sometimes there are more real elements in them and I often try and decipher if what I dreamt was real or not when I wake up. 

Bodega and the Young Lords

Willie Bodega was an important character in Bodega Dreams by Ernesto Quinonez. He is trying to better his community by helping anyone out by finding them a job, a home, or even financing their education. Not too much information is given about his past, however it is mentioned that he was part of a group called the Young Lords.

The Young Lords are a group of Puerto Ricans that originally started out as a turf gang in Chicago in the 60s. They wanted to empower Puerto Ricans and help them to better themselves and their communities. They soon became a humanitarian group, focused on helping Puerto Ricans to become more accepted in the wider American culture. This sort of start parallels Bodegas life; he started out on the streets and ended up having lots of money and power that he was putting back into the neighborhood.

There are more parallels between Bodega and the Young Lords groups. The Young Lords still exist, however undercover cops that manipulated their demise from the inside took down the majority of their group and the one that was based in New York. They were used by people who pretended to care about the cause. Bodega was used by a friend who he felt supported the cause of making the neighborhood better. In the end Bodega’s dream for a new Spanish Harlem and a better Puerto Rican neighborhood was brought down from the inside as Nazario used him to get to Vera and to take the fall for the illegal dealings that had been going on.

Bodega Dreams was a fun book to read, the book was written like a thriller with twists and turns coming often. I really enjoyed the great melding of fiction with reality, the places were real and most of the background story seems to be drawn from events that really happened.

Mirror Exercise

I stare in the mirror at myself. Eyes that are somewhere between green and blue look back at me. Brown hair is pulled back and bangs fall to the side. The ears stick out a bit on the sides of an oval face. My skin is white and much lighter than it is during the summers. My reflection shows one color: white, a color that holds power yet is rarely recognized by those that have it. It comes from several places: France, Switzerland, and Germany. I am a European-American.

I continue to stare into the mirror. I see a messy room, clothes in an organized chaos. Books filling every inch of the bookcase. A squirrel perched on the trunk of a tree outside the window to a backdrop of cloudy skies.

My mirror reflects the familial influences I have. It reveals traditions, music, and games. I see my Grandma Weaver running around the kitchen making dinner, three steaming pans on the stove in a delicate harmony on their way to perfection. I see my cousins gathered around the table playing cards flashing green, red, blue, and yellow. I see my dad coaching a soccer team; all running around like a bunch of bumblebees. I see myself as the goalie that has the biggest pile of green grass at my feet.

I see the mile long line at the chief, with a different flavor of the week every week. I see my friends hanging out, running around and playing games in a large backyard.

As I look deeper, the boundaries melt away and time blends. I see the ebb and flow of the tide in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. I see the legacy of my ancestors. The flowing, sophisticated French language. The classical music that came out of Germany. The smooth, milky chocolate that the Swiss are excellent at making to this day.

I look deeper and to see the literary contributions of my culture. As I look closer I find it harder to define the contributions of my culture, is my culture any American writer or those with the same European background that I have. The fantastical writings of J.K. Rowling. Shel Silvertstein and his funky and relatable poetry. The wit and timelessness presented by Jane Austen.

I look into the mirror and see more than just my reflection. I see that I am more than just my brown hair, blue-green eyes, and white skin. The mirror shows me as a part of a rich tapestry that has been woven together incorporating the cultures I came from and the culture that I am a part of. Wherever I go I can find a connection with who I am: European, American, Caucasian. As the person in the mirror changes as the years pass, the will always be an essence of my self reflected back.

Kevin Gonzalez

Photo from fishhousepoets.org

Kevin Gonzalez grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He writes short fiction as well as poetry. He attended college in Pittsburg and received his Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in poetry as well as a second Masters degree from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop in fiction. He received the Carol Houck Smith Fiction Fellowship from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

He is relatively new to the literature scene having published his first book in 2009 entitled Cultural Studies, although he did publish a chapbook published in 2007. He has had poems in anthologies of both American and Latino literature. Gonzalez currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin and is the co-editor of jubilat, as well as being the co-curator for the Monsters of Poetry reading series.

Photo from howitgit.com

The poems by Gonzalez in the anthology The Wind Shifts can be appreciated by everyone, but may hold a larger significance to Puerto Ricans because they explore the Puerto Rican culture in a contemporary way. Gonzalez writes about experiences he had in his life, both growing up in Puerto Rico and after he moved to the United States. However, no matter what time period he writes about there always seems to be some connection to Puerto Rico. His poem “To Roberto Clemente” is about the connection he has with Clemente despite having moved on from both Puerto Rico and Pittsburg, he still picks the paper up every morning and checks for any news of him.                

               

In several of his other poems the anthology Gonzalez writes about his life growing up. He often chooses to write in the second person as a way to put the focus on the reader and to draw them in, while still being self-exploratory. This style of writing does really well when reading the poetry as a window, it draws you in and allows you to put yourself in the middle of what the poem is talking about. This works really well in a poem entitled “Cultural Silence; or, How to Survive the Last American Colony.” This poem really draws you into the political scene of Puerto Rico by putting you in the shoes of person at a bar where political talk is prohibited, yet tourists can talk about it and you can feel how this Puerto Rican feels when Gonzalez writes “Here, you will want to drop your own politics/like an egg crate. Don’t.”

Photo from indianareview.blogspot.com

Gonzalez often talks about sports and growing up in Puerto Rico. In an interview with a fellow poet, Gonzalez talks about the connection that sports gave him with his father beyond just the love of boxing and baseball that many Puerto Ricans have. There are two poems about boxing matches, both involving Tito Trinidad. His one poem, “The Night Tito Trinidad KO’ed Fernando Vargas,” talks about the power of sports in Puerto Rico and its ability to bring together people and to make them forget that “we live in a colony/ & the stripes of our waving flag/ yield a black shadow under/ pirated fireworks.”

While Gonzalez’s topics may be mainly about Puerto Rico and they will appeal to anyone with ties to the island, there are aspects of every poem that anybody can relate to. If they can’t relate, the poems provide a wonderful mirror into someone else’s life and culture.