Cecilia

Life in 19th century Cuba

A bit of Cuban history

The history of Cuba began with the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492 and the subsequent invasion of the island by the Spaniards.

Aboriginal groupsthe Guanahatabey, Ciboney, and Tanoinhabited the island but were soon eliminated or died as a result of diseases or the shock of conquest. Thus, the impact of indigenous groups on subsequent Cuban society was limited, and Spanish culture, institutions, language, and religion prevailed.

http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/History/Cuba-history.htm

Colonial society developed slowly after Spain colonized the island in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; pastoral pursuits and agriculture served as the basis of the economy.

The growth of the United States as an independent nation, the collapse of Haiti as a sugar-producing colony, Spanish protective policies, and the ingenuity of Cubas Creole business class all converged to produce a sugar revolution on the island.

In a scant few years, Cuba was transformed from a sleepy, unimportant island into the major sugar producer in the world. Slaves arrived in increasing numbers; large estates squeezed out smaller ones; sugar supplanted tobacco, agriculture, and cattle as the main occupation; prosperity replaced poverty; and Spains attention replaced neglect

These factors, especially the latter two, delayed a move toward independence in the early nineteenth century. While most of Latin America was breaking with Spain, Cuba remained loyal. 1810 Chile, Colombia, Mexico

1811 1816
1821

Paraguay, Venezuela Argentina

Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru

1822
1825 1844

Brazil
Bolivia, Uruguay Dom. Republic 1898 Cuba (1902)

Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Cuban loyalty began to change as a result of Creole rivalry with Spaniards for the governing of the island, increased Spanish despotism and taxation, and the growth of Cuban nationalism.

These developments combined to produce a prolonged and bloody war, the Ten Years War against Spain (186878), but it failed to win independence for Cuba.

The Ten Years' War was led by the Cespedes and Agramonte families who liberated large number of slaves that joined together for the independence of Cuba. Although this struggle failed it led to further uprisings in the 1890's

Slavery in Latin America

Spain starts importing black African slaves to Hispaniola (La Espaola: Haiti 1502 and Dominican Republic) when the Catholic Monarchs (los Reyes Catlicos) give slaving contract to Nicols de Ovando. 1517 Bartolom de Las Casas gets permission from Spanish emperor Carlos V to use African slaves to replace the exterminated natives in the island's mines and sugar plantations. 1562-1618 England and Netherlands begin slaving activities between Africa and the Antilles.

1814-1820

The Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, and France

outlaw slave trade (but not slavery itself).

http://dept.sfcollege.edu/HFL/hum2461/pdfs/Slavery%20Latin%20America%20Chronology.pdf

1824 Guatemala becomes the first Latin American nation after Haiti to outlaw slavery; Argentina, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Mexico follow

suit in 1825-1829.

1840-1845 Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador outlaw slavery.

1873 Slavery outlawed in Puerto Rico (a Spanish colony until 1898)

1886 Slavery outlawed in Cuba (a Spanish colony until 1898).

1888 Brazil outlaws slavery.

Slavery in Cuba
1513 The first record of slavery in Cuba. Landowner Amador de Lares gets permission to bring four African slaves from Hispaniola. 1708 The Spanish crown issues a decree allowing slaves to purchase their freedom. Those who do so are known as cortados. 1838 About 391,000 slaves are brought to Cuba between1762 and 1838. 1840 Slaves make up 45% of the Cuban population. The wealthy white Cuban elite, criollos (Cuban born) and peninsulares (Spanish born), fear the large slave population enough to delay any push for independence.

A few brief words on santera

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/pl aces/culture-places/beliefs-andtraditions/cuba-santeria-pp/
Eleggua / Elegua: Messenger, Opener of the Way, Trickster Simon Peter San Martin (Caballero) Saint Anthony (of Padua) El Nino de Atocha Saint Expedite Saint Michael Archangel Obatala / Obatalia: Father-Mother of Humanity, Bringer of Peace and Harmony Our Lady of Mercy Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Saint

Yemaya / Yemalia / Yemalla: Spirit of Motherhood, the Ocean, and the Moon Our Lady of Regla Mary, Star of the Sea (Stella Maris)

Oya: Female Warrior, Spirit of Wind, Storm, Thunder, and Magic Our Lady of Candelaria Saint Catherine Saint Theresa Oshun / Ochum: Lady of Love, Beauty, and Sexuality, Spirit of Fresh Water Our Lady of Caridad del Cobre (Our Mother of Charity)

Chango / Shango / Xango / Sango: Fourth King of the Yoruba, immortalized as Spirit of Thunder Saint Barbara Saint Jerome Ogun / Ogum: Lord of Metals, Minerals, Tools, War, Birds, and Wild Beasts Saint John the Baptist Saint Anthony (of Padua) Saint George San Pedro (Saint Simon Peter) Orula / Orunmila: Teacher, Prophet Saint John the Evangelist taking Jesus down from cross
Babaluaye: Spirit of Disease and Sickness, also Provider of Money to the Poor Saint Lazarus of Dives

Abolitionists
1840 Autobiografa of ex-Cuban slave and poet, Juan Francisco Manzano

Gertrudis Gmez de Avellaneda's 1841 Sab

Cirilo Villaverde's Cecilia Valds (written in 1839; published in 1882)

Tonights film
Directed by Humberto Sols in 1982:

How dare you mess with a classic?!

Sols was savagely attacked by the critics and by the Cuban public for his version(s) of Cecilia. Spanish TV6 hours Cuban cinema4 hours International version3+ hours Tonights version1.5 hours

Cecilia Valds is a romantic novel set in Havana in the 1830s. The character Cecilia is a mulatta (1/2 Spanish African) who is light enough to pass as white. She is ambitious, charming, vivacious, the most beautiful woman in her neighborhood but not good enough to marry into society and improve her social stature. She is the object of sexist manipulations and racial prejudices. Leonardo is the wealthy macho man about town with whom Cecilia falls in love and whose mother intervenes to marry him off to Isabel, a wealthy white abolitionist. Neither he nor Cecilia know that they are half-siblings.

What to watch for:

the presentation of class and race the different types or categories of women and their motivations Leonardo and Cecilia arent siblings; what forbidden familial relationship did Sols include instead? the opening scene and the clash of 2 religions the stylized scene on the plantation of the punished slaves the legends of Oshn and Shang

Discussion: to be handed in. This is instead of the summary listed on the syllabus

1. Sols erased the most shocking element of the novel - that, unbeknownst to them, Cecilia and Leonardo were sister and brother and, thus, incestuous lovers. Alfredo Guevara, the head of the Cuban film industry at the time, remarked No es fcil la hereja (Heresy isnt easy.) as a reaction to those who criticized the change in plot. Do you think that it IS heresy for a director to make plot changes? Was there a similarly shocking element inserted in its place? How might the original plot have changed your reaction to the movie? 2. Sols removed the incest and inserted, instead, a subtext that emphasizes Santera as the force that shapes the destiny of the characters. Was this a wise choice? Would it make more sense to a Caribbean audience? 3. How did you interpret the conversation between Isabel and Leonardo as regards England coming out against the slave trade: What are you, a woman or a book? I am a book, but with many pages forbidden by the pope.

Next week, a change to the syllabus and jump backwards in time.

Mexico in the 1600s. A woman driven to study the world around her and write about it. A woman who chose the only option that would enable her to do that. A woman who has been described as the New Worlds first intellectual.

And a film that had to resort to over the top advertising in order to attract anyones attention....

Sor Juana Ins de la Cruz.

There is someone in the class (Alexandra) who, through constant exposure to Sor Juana, is becoming an expert, and she will present something next class. Topic TBA (hablaremos el viernes.)