|
|
Monday, December 29, 2008
Race-based clubs see revival in Cuba: Clubs based on racial exclusivity, for Afro-Cubans
as well as other groups, are making a comeback in Cuba.
The Miami Herald is one of many publications noting the 50th year anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. Journalist Liza Gross writes
about the re-emergence of sociedades de color, or race-oriented clubs on the island: "More
than 50 years have passed, but Afro-Cuban author Pedro Pérez Sarduy still remembers the dances. "He and his friends would dress smartly in white linen guayaberas and black bow ties to attend
balls at La Bella Unión (Beautiful Union), a social club in his hometown of Santa Clara, Cuba. At these matinés,
they danced cha-cha-cha and flirted with girls. '' 'The matiné
went from 1 until 5 with a local orchestra for the kids,' Pérez Sarduy said. 'After that, the dance for adults
had a good orchestra because this was important for the prestige of the club.' "Known
in Spanish as sociedades de color, these and similar clubs fell victim to Fidel Castro's drive, shortly after he seized
power, to eliminate any aspect of Cuban society that emphasized racial exclusivity. But their spirit and mission have been
enjoying a renaissance over the past decade. And the same revolutionary government that once opposed them now seems to welcome
their comeback. "In prerevolutionary Cuba, where Blacks and poor, uneducated
whites were denied access to good jobs and ritzy outings, the clubs served as centers to socialize and promote Black racial
progress. Many had libraries and offered night classes and sports instruction. "Above
all, the sociedades sought to dispel any negative stereotypes of Blacks."
2:27 pm est
|
|
Visit www.afropresencia.com to find listings and links to areas where you can find out
about upcoming events, as well as links to articles, photos and videos on Life in the Black Americas.
 |
|
The Sound of My Footsteps: Narratives of Migratory Jamaican immigrants
Interviews with over 30 Jamaican immigrants on their
pre-migratory perceptions of New York and England Click
here to view and purchase the book.
The Afro-Latin@ Reader:
History and Culture in the United States
 The Afro-Latin@ Reader focuses attention on a large, vibrant, yet oddly invisible community
in the United States: people of African descent from Latin America and the Caribbean. The presence of Afro-Latin@s
in the United States (and throughout the Americas) belies the notion that Blacks and Latin@s are two distinct categories
or cultures. Afro-Latin@s are uniquely situated to bridge the widening social divide between Latin@s and African
Americans. At the same time, their experiences reveal pervasive racism among Latin@s and ethnocentrism among African
Americans. Offering insight into Afro-Latin@ life and new ways to understand culture, ethnicity, nation, identity,
and antiracist politics, The Afro-Latin@ Reader presents a kaleidoscopic view of Black Latin@s in the United
States. It addresses history, music, gender, class, and media representations in more than sixty selections, including
scholarly essays, memoirs, newspaper and magazine articles, poetry, short stories, and interviews. Click here to view and purchase the book.
African American History Day by Day: A Reference Guide to Events by Karen Juanita Carrillo The proof
of any group's importance to history is in the detail, a fact made plain by this informative book's day-by-day documentation
of the impact of African Americans on life in the United States. One of the easiest ways to grasp any aspect of history
is to look at it as a continuum. African American History Day by Day: A Reference Guide to Events provides just
such an opportunity. Click here to view and purchase the book.
The
View from Chocó: The Afro-Colombian past, their lives in the present, and their hopes for the future by Karen Juanita Carrillo The View from Chocó: The Afro-Colombian past, their lives in the
present, and their hopes for the future is an introduction to the lives of Blacks in Colombia. Afro-Colombians
live in a resource-rich yet remote region of Colombia. They only recently won recognition as one of that nation's
distinct ethnic groups. But Colombia's on-going civil war has led many Afro-Colombians to reach even farther than
their nation's borders for recognition: many have made their way to the United States as refugees and as political
activists working for peace in their homeland. The View from Chocó introduces the lives and struggles of a too-long neglected community of Colombian Blacks. Click here to view and purchase the book.
Raise Your Brown Black Fist is a collection of essays
written by Kevin Alberto Sabio during his time as a Contributing Writer  for an online magazine.
The book combines his two article series, "Black
vs Brown" and "Black Thoughts: A Political Ideological Perspective
for Afrolatinos" into one volume, plus three other miscellaneous entries. The book
is currently available through his publisher, AuthorHouse. Click
the logo above to view and purchase the book.
|
