1. The Blood of Our Heroes: Race, Memory, and Iconography in Cuba, 1902--1962
- Collection:
- Black Caribbean Literature (BCL)
- Contributers:
- Nathan,Robert C. (Author)
- Format:
- Dissertation/Thesis
- Publication Date:
- 2012
- Published:
- North Carolina: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Location:
- African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Journal Title:
- ProQuest Dissertations and Theses
- Notes:
- 280 p., Examines how Cubans mobilized the memory of their wars of independence as the symbolic and narrative foundations of their nationhood. Argues that the creation of a set of heroes, icons, and parables was crucial to consolidation of the Cuban republic and to the establishment of political and racial norms that sustained it. Cuban independence was threatened from its outset by the prospect of U.S. intervention. In this context, securing political stability and social unity became matters of national survival. The sanctification of national heroes enabled Cubans to demonstrate the historical legitimacy of their fragile republic, and Cubans circulated narratives emphasizing the cooperation of black and white Cubans in the anti-colonial struggle to deny and forestall conflicts over racial inequality.