Stories of Love and Hate: Cultural Memory in the Cuban Diaspora

Abstract

In the half-century that has elapsed since the year when revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro took power in Cuba, the past has remained a contentious issue. The year 1959 became a kind of temporal boundary that delimited the Caribbean island’s transit from capitalism to socialism, and in time, a charged reference with a symbolic power to designate the old and new societies: the backward neo-colonial republic and the developing nation. That division of pre- and post-revolution was integrated into the national consciousness in a country that also turned into a global symbol for social justice, revered for its educational and health successes, and for engaging in a confrontational relationship with its powerful neighbour, the USA.