Life on the Hyphen: The Cuban-American Way - Softcover

Firmat, Gustavo Perez

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0292765517 ISBN 13: 9780292765511

Publisher: University of Texas Press, 1994

Synopsis

From Desi Arnaz and "I Love Lucy" to Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine, Cuban-Americans have conga'd and mambo'd their way into the heart of popular culture in the United States. This engaging book, which mixes the author's own story with his reflections as a trained observer, explores how both famous and ordinary members of the "1.5 Generation" (Cubans who came to United States as children or adolescents) have lived "life on the hyphen," neither fully Cuban nor fully American, but a fertile hybrid of both. Ranging widely from music to movies to television to literature, Gustavo Pérez Firmat chronicles what it means to be Cuban in America. He offers an in-depth look at Cuban-Americans who have become icons of popular and literary culture, including Desi Arnaz, Oscar Hijuelos (whose The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love won the Pulitzer Prize and became a major motion picture), musician Perez Prado, poet José Kozer, and crossover pop stars Gloria Estefan and Jon Secada.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

From Desi Arnaz, arguably still the most famous Cuban to hit U.S. shores, to current pop star Gloria Estefan, Cuban Americans have had to balance life within two cultures, one representing their past, one their present and future. While acknowledging that a Cuban presence has flourished in the U.S. for more than 400 years, Perez Firmat directs his attention toward what it means to be a Cuban American in the second half of this century, when a recognizable "hyphenated" culture has emerged. Firmat, who teaches Spanish at Duke, seamlessly weaves both personal observances and scholarly analysis of television programs, such as I Love Lucy , music, literature and movies to prove his point: that members of the "1.5 generation," those Cubans who came to the U.S. as children or adolescents, are neither fully Cuban nor fully American, but a dynamic combination of both. Exploring in-depth the art and lives of several Cuban American cultural icons, including Arnaz, author Oscar Hijuelos, poet Jose Kozer, musicians Estefan, Perez Prado and Jon Secada, as well as the mambo and conga dance crazes, Firmat vividly demonstrates how Cuban Americans, while battling assimilation and regression, have greatly enriched popular culture in the U.S. Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

Perez Firmat (Spanish, Duke Univ.) analyzes Cuban American popular culture as represented in the efforts of writers and entertainers from actor/bandleader Desi Arnaz through singer Gloria Estefan and novelist Oscar Hijuelos. Unfortunately, though Perez Firmat sees this as an individual's account of the times through which he has lived, he seldom emerges in a personal way. However, he does succeed in presenting a clear analysis of a changing Cuban American popular culture. His examination of important facets of "life on the hyphen" grants insights that will help those outside the Cuban American experience to understand it and help those within it to gain a deeper perspective. The clear writing and solid understanding of the Cuban American experience will enhance the appeal of this significant work in both public and academic libraries.
James E. Ross, Seattle P.L.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0292765517
• ISBN 13: 9780292765511
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 216