Cuba Represent!：Cuban Arts, State Power, and the Making of New Revolutionary Cultures

InCuba,somethingcurioushashappenedoverthepastfifteenyears.Thegovernmenthasallowedblatantandvocalcriticismofitspoliciestobeexpressedwithinthearts.Filmmakers,rappers,andvisualandperformanceartistshaveaddressedsensitiveissuesincludingbureaucracy,racialandgenderdiscrimination,emigration,andalienation.Howcanthisvibrantbodyofworkbereconciledwiththestandardrepresentationsofarepressive,authoritarianculturalapparatus?In"CubaRepresent!"SujathaFernandes-ascholarandamusicianwhohasperformedinCuba-answersthatquestion.Combiningtextualanalysesoffilms,rapsongs,andvisualartworks;ethnographicmaterialcollectedinCuba;andinsightsintothenation'shistoryandpoliticaleconomy,Fernandesdetailsthenewformsofengagementwithofficialinstitutionsthathaveopenedupasaresultofchangingrelationshipsbetweenstateandsocietyinthepost-Sovietperiod.Shedemonstratesthatinamomentofextremehardshipanduncertainty,theCubanstatehasmovedtoamorepermeablemodelofpower.Artistsandpublicsarecollaboratingwithgovernmentactorstopartiallyincorporatecriticalculturalexpressionsintoofficialdiscourse.TheCubanleadershiphascometorecognizethebenefitsofsupportingartists:rappersofferalinktoincreasinglyfrustratedblackyouthinCuba;visualartistsareanimportantsourceofinternationalprestigeandhardcurrency;and,filmshelpunifyCubansthroughcommunitydiscourseaboutthenation."CubaRepresent!"revealsthatpartofthesocialistgovernment'sresiliencestemsfromitsabilitytoabsorboppositionalideasandvalues.