Cuban Hustle

Sujatha Fernandes is Professor of Political Economy and Sociology at the University of Sydney and author of Cuba Represent!: Cuban Arts, State Power, and the Making of New Revolutionary Cultures and Who Can Stop the Drums?: Urban Social Movements in ChÁvez's Venezuela both also published by Duke University Press, and most recently of Curated Stories: The Uses and Misuses of Storytelling.

“A fascinating dossier about the challenges and preoccupations of post-Soviet Cuba. From negotiating the fallout from a globalizing economy to new movements in the visual arts, music, film, feminism, and racial consciousness, Sujatha Fernandes brings readers up to date on the inventive, evolving hustle that is Cuba's survival.” - Cristina García, author of (Here in Berlin: A Novel) “In a complex and nuanced way, Sujatha Fernandes describes Cuba's most recent two decades, focusing on subjects that have not been written about in this much detail. She contributes to a new understanding of present-day Cuba-and its many fascinating idiosyncrasies, tensions, and creative solutions to complicated problems-in an engaging and politically sophisticated style that general readers will enjoy.” - Margaret Randall, author of (I Never Left Home: Poet, Feminist, Revolutionary) “For any reader who is curious about the embodiment of Cuban life over the past two decades, Fernandes skillfully provides lucid accounts of ordinary Cubans, who, through pure resourcefulness and innovation, and in times of chaos, work relentlessly to find strategies for survival, in ways that are meaningful and artistically expressive…. The Cuban Hustle provides a necessary contribution to the Cuban diaspora literature; the accounts are timely, and deliver a contemporary understanding of Cuba, and the hardships faced by so many since the collapse of the Soviet Union.” - Mauricia John (Ethnic and Racial Studies) "The greatest value of the text is in revealing the complexity of Cuban culture and the creativity of Cubans in challenging the outdated stereotypes that may persist in a communist nation. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students and faculty." - J. A. Baer (Choice) “In The Cuban Hustle, Sujatha Fernandes explores Cuban creativity in the decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union.... The essays pay particularly close attention to issues of race, gender, and sexuality, which are examined through the lens of Cuba’s vibrant and incredibly diverse artistic terrain.” - Rubrick Biegon (Latin American Politics and Society) “The Cuban Hustle is a fascinating take on the evolution of Cuban art, culture, and everyday life which spans more than 20 years.... The book is enjoyable and accessible for readers of different ages and educational backgrounds.” - Esther Hernández-Medina (Social Forces) “The originality and pertinence of [The Cuban Hustle] lies precisely in the fact that the reader is led to examine lesser-studied topics, social and cultural actors, often on a microlevel. . . . We can also appreciate the author’s balanced approach, which invites us to ‘understand Cuba on its own terms.’” - Catia Dignard (Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies) “Fernandes’s ethnographic descriptions are enthralling and provide readers with a true sense of what it is like to begin to see Cuba as Cubans see it. . . . The Cuban Hustle provides an insightful overview of post-Soviet Cuban life.” - William Kelly (New West Indian Guide)

• Acknowledgments  ixIntroduction  1Part I. Cultures of the Special Period1. Revolution and Rumba: Cuba in the Special Period  92. Alice in Wondertown: Interview with Filmmaker Daniel DÍaz Torres  153. MagÍn: Feminist Organizing in Cuba  224. Vitality in Precarious Conditions: Conversation with Artist/Art Critic Tonel  325. Public Art and Art Collectives in Havana  446. New Cuban Cinema: Race and Sexuality  537. The Capital of Rap: Hip Hop Culture in Alamar  628. Cultural Cimarronaje: Afro-Cuban Visual Arts  719. Elio RodrÍguez: Of Joint Ventures and Sexual Adventures  77Part II. Normalization: Netflix Meets the Weekly Packet10. Cuban Rap: Where the Streets Meet Highbrow Art  8711. Why USAID Could Never Spark a Hip Hop Revolution in Cuba  9012. Stories that Resonate: New Cultures of Documentary Filmmaking in Cuba (With Alexandra Hakin)  9413. What Do Cubans Think of Normalization with the United States?  10014. The Repeating Barrio  10415. In Cuba, Will the Revolution Be Digitized?  11116. Afro-Cuban Activists Fight Racism between Two Fires  12017. Black Diasporic Dialogues in Post-Soviet Cuba  12918. The Many Shades of Fidel Castro  133Part III. Cuban Futures and the Trump Era19. The Cold War Politics of Donald Trump  13920. Hairdressers of the World, Unite! (You Have Nothing to Lose but Your Locks . . . and a Community to Win)  14321. How Socially Engaged Activism Is Transforming Cuba  15222. A Ship Adrift: Cuba after the Pink Tide  162Epilogue  167