Book presentation (in English)
 
Cuba Inside and Out: Cuban Fiestas and The Havana Habit
Thursday, March 31
7:00 pm
Free admission

Renowned writers Roberto González Echevarría and Gustavo Pérez Firmat will discuss and read from their most recent publications, Cuban Fiestas and The Havana Habit, both published by Yale University Press. These two highly personal works explore, respectively, la fiesta cubana from the nineteenth century to the present, and the influence of Cuba from the Colonial period to today on U.S. culture. Cuban Fiestas addresses elements of the fiesta as they have appeared in collective rituals in the spheres of music, dance, sports (e.g., baseball), literature, and film.

The Havana Habit traces the relationship between Cuban and U.S. societies as reflected in phenomena including the mambo, Hollywood musicals, I Love Lucy, and noir writing.

González Echevarría, who was awarded the 2010 National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama on March 3, 2011, at the White House, is Sterling Professor of Hispanic and Comparative Literature at Yale University. Pérez Firmat is the David Feinson Professor of Humanities at Columbia University.
Reservations required.
Americas Society Members: Reserve at membersres@americas-society.org
Non-Members: Reserve online.