Acknowledgments

This book reflects a journey I began when I was a graduate student at the University of Michigan. Al Meyer, Peter McDonough, Lourdes Arguelles, and Lourdes Casal made the initial steps possible. The Association for Critical Studies coordinated by Rudy Rosales was a truly exceptional intellectual support group at this stage.

Frank Bonilla, Rebecca Morales, Edwin Melendez, Raul Hinojosa, Andy Torres, and Manuel Pastor, colleagues in the political economy working group of the InterUniversity Program on Latino Research, allowed me to place Cuban exceptionalism in a comparative perspective. It is this group’s framework that informs this book.

Marifeli Pérez-Stable’s integrity and her own work on the Cuban revolution lay the groundwork for those of us seeking more intellectually honest perspectives on our histories. Carmen Diaz’s passion for theoretical and personal coherence and her generosity of spirit helped in our explorations of new theoretical frameworks. And Ruth Behar’s insistence that research could be conducted from a more “vulnerable” perspective encouraged me to weave personal narrative into my work.

The work of scholars at the Institute for Policy Studies allowed me to understand the nature of the national security state in the United States, as did the support of Saul Landau, Philip Brenner, and Julia Swieg. Intellectuals I met in Cuba throughout the years, particularly Manuel Moreno Fraginals, Raquel Mendieta, Ivan de la Nuez, and Maruga and Josésito Alegria, have enriched my knowledge of Cuban history and aesthetics.

The Institute de Estudios Cubanos, headed by María Cristina Herrera, and the Cuban Research Institute of Florida International University, directed by Lisandro Perez and Uva Clavijo, provided opportunities to present, debate, and receive feedback for a more complex understanding of our realities. Guillermo Grenier shared his surveys throughout the years.

Insights provided by Cuban official documents would not have been possible without the access that Mercedes Arce arranged. My understanding of Cuban politics and identity was enriched through ongoing debates with other colleagues, particularly Rafael Hernandez and Abel Prieto. Some of these exchanges were made possible through the Latin American Studies Association’s working groups. Wayne Smith and Andy Zimbalist facilitated these exchanges.

At DePaul my work was supported by the administrations of Dick Meister, Mike Mezey, Larry Bennett, Pat Callahan, and Harry Wray. Other colleagues have provided intellectual and moral support; they include Jim Block. Beth Kelly, Ted Manley, Rose Spalding, Azza Layton, Ted Anton, Felix Masud-Piloto, María Masud, Marisa Alicea, and Mirza Gonzalez.

Various editors gave me a public arena in which to debate my points of view, including George Black and Elsa Dixler of the Nation, Khachig Tölölyan of Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies, and Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune. I am especially thankful to Rich Bard of the Miami Herald, who gave me the space and support to develop my ideas in a context where it mattered most. Without Chuck Myers of the University of Michigan Press and the criticisms of anonymous reviewers, this book would not have seen the light of day.

The writing of this book would not have been possible without the thoughtful reading and editing provided at different stages by Matthew Piers, Lisa Page. Achy Obejas, Lisa Milam, and Michelle Miller-Adams. I am deeply grateful for their insights, questions, and suggestions. Elizabeth McCormack and Ester Nieves helped research data for the tables for the book. Helena Beckett pulled together last minute details. I am grateful to Eduardo Aparicio whose pictures provide visual testament of our mirror realities.

My first journeys back to the island were made with other Cuban exiles who, like myself, had a desire to reconnect with our homeland. My cotravelers on these early trips, with whom ] shared not only the experience but also the struggle to understand our realities, included among many Mariana Gaston, Mauricio Gaston. Miren Uriarte-Gaston, Ana María Garcia, Carlos Muñiz. Raul Alzaga, Ricardo Fraga, Rafael Betancourt. Rosario Moreno, Iraida Lopez, and Armando Garcia. While we have ended up in different places, I am convinced that our returns made possible more complex and richer ways for Cubans on and off the island to engage with one another.

Later on I worked with Manolo Gomez, Ramón Bueno, Silvia Arrom, Dagmariz Cabezas. and Flavio Risech, among others, to provide an alternative voice for Cuban progressives in Washington, D.C. Ramón Cernuda shared with me his understanding of the human rights movement in Cuba and its impact on the exile community.

Liz Balmaseda opened a window into the heart of Miami. And Miami became more than a transit point thanks to her and Dick and Caren Lobo. Friends from Cuba who later immigrated to the United States, such as Ileana Barros, José Luis Ferrer, Florencio Gelabert, and Madelin Camara, contributed to making Miami a bit more like Havana.

Throughout the years I have shared anxieties about Cuba and our place in the United States with many friends, including Nereida Garcia, Natalia Delgado, Ricardo Fernandez, Coco Fusco, María Bechily, and Rafael Ravelo. Bibiana Suarez, Guillermo Gomez Peña, Inigo Manglano-Ovalle, Gini Sorrentini, Neri and Luci Barrientos, and Rodrigo del Canto have made me keenly aware that displacement is not only a “Cuban” condition.

My families in Cuba, Pablo Armando Fernandez and his wife, Maruja, their children, Jeca, Pepe, Teresa, Pablito, and Barbara, as well as the Diegos, Eliseo, Bella, Rapi, Liche, and Fefe, made the search for coherence possible.

To my parents, Alberto Torres and María Isabel Vigil, who have always insisted on intellectual honesty and who helped with last minute edits on Spanish accents, and to my sisters, Alicia, Lourdes, and Isabel, with whom I have shared both personal and political parts of this journey, I thank for their support.

To my daughters, Alejandra María and Paola Camila, and my husband, Matthew Piers, I owe the joy of being.