Louis A. Pérez initiates the academic literature that studies the relationship between America and Cuba, which has shaped the progressing literature currently disseminating within academia and mainstream research regarding American and Cuban encounters. “On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture”, is another Louis A. Pérez production that emphasizes the evolutions and transitions between, above, and below the two countries. The 579-page text is a tedious read, but a thorough history of the cultural significance the U.S. has on Cuban society. Pérez accomplishes this by studying the period between the mid-nineteenth centuries through the years of the Castro Revolution of 1959.
Pérez’s central thesis is straightforward, as he recognizes that the Cuban nationalist sentiment rejected U.S. influences after the revolution of 1959, but that in the years preceding the Castro Revolution, Cuban national identity was identical with American values and influence. His study is extensive and covers a wide range of examples to illuminate the variety of ways in which components of U.S. culture became intimate parts of Cuban everyday life. For example, fashion and beauty, music, films and dance, to education policies and even appliances, and sports …show more content…
Also, the texts lack of a concluding chapter and bibliography, the reviewer ponders if he has stated any reason for this, and furthermore it too weakens the strength of the text. This is disappointing regarding the current cultural implications since the Castro revolution, as the readers would benefit from his position regarding these current events. “On Becoming Cuban” remains a staple for anyone wanting to understand the cultural history of the relationships between the U.S. and Cuba and the growing literature regarding nation
Pérez’s central thesis is straightforward, as he recognizes that the Cuban nationalist sentiment rejected U.S. influences after the revolution of 1959, but that in the years preceding the Castro Revolution, Cuban national identity was identical with American values and influence. His study is extensive and covers a wide range of examples to illuminate the variety of ways in which components of U.S. culture became intimate parts of Cuban everyday life. For example, fashion and beauty, music, films and dance, to education policies and even appliances, and sports …show more content…
Also, the texts lack of a concluding chapter and bibliography, the reviewer ponders if he has stated any reason for this, and furthermore it too weakens the strength of the text. This is disappointing regarding the current cultural implications since the Castro revolution, as the readers would benefit from his position regarding these current events. “On Becoming Cuban” remains a staple for anyone wanting to understand the cultural history of the relationships between the U.S. and Cuba and the growing literature regarding nation