Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia

Presentation Date: 

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

This session, focusing on Dreaming Cuban, was hosted on December 4th, 2013 by the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies. It featured Rainer Schultz, Fellow, DRCLAS Cuban Studies Program.

View a recording of the session.

Accompanying Non-Fiction Reading: Cuban Evolution Time Magazine July 08, 2013 and accompanying photo essay. 

Garcia's first book, Dreaming in Cuban is about three generations of del Pino women who are seeking spiritual homes for their passionate, often troubled souls. Celia del Pino and her descendants also share clairvoyant and visionary powers that somehow remain undiminished, despite the Cuban revolution and its profound effect upon their lives. This dichotomy suffuses their lives with a potent mixture of superstition, politics, and surrealistic charm that gives the novel an otherworldly atmosphere. Writing experimentally in a variety of forms, she combines narratives, love letters, and monologues to portray the del Pinos as they move back and forth through time. Garcia tells their story with an economy of words and a rich, tropical imagery, setting a brisk but comfortable pace.