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Carnival, Feast Days, and House Parties: Cuban Celebrations in Louisiana after 1960
By Tomás Montoya González with contributions by T. Ariana Hall
Translations by Lori N. Tyler and T. Ariana Hall
Also See - Music and Dance in South Louisiana's Cuban Community
Acculturation to Life in Louisiana
Religious Celebrations
Patriotic Celebrations
Domestic Festivities and Parties A Lo Cubano
Mardi Gras, American Holidays, Foodways and Home
Institutions Organizing Celebrations / Conclusion
Institutions Organizing Celebrations
Cuban organizations play an important role in celebrations for the Cuban community. Some do not exist anymore even though they were extremely important for the community while they existed, like the Liceo Cubano José Martí, whose founders have gotten older and retired from active public life or passed away. This is also the case with the Club de Profesionales, whose members say that they would need a commitment from the younger members so that the institution does not disappear. Other institutions, however, have remained active like the Cuba Centenario, created in 2000 with active members like Vivian Nieto and Bethsy Pizarro. The CubaNOLA Arts Collective, created in 1999, has created more of a presence in the local Cuban community, organizing parties and concerts with Cuban bands, and supporting events supported by local institutions like Tulane University, Ashé Cultural Arts Center, Puentes New Orleans and many others.
Conclusion
Cubans who came to the greater New Orleans area not only brought their celebratory traditions with them, but adapted these traditions to the local context. Historical, class, racial, and generational factors, especially the particular contrasts in Cuban realities of the last 50 years, deeply affect the Cuban diaspora. Cuban immigrants who came to Louisiana appropriated local traditions, recasting and enriching them with their own experiences. This was shaped by the festive South Louisiana culture, which has clear parallels to Cuban customs. This resulted in Cubans becoming a vibrant and important part of south Louisiana's culture.
Tomás Montoya González is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology, specializing in popular culture, at the University of Oriente in Santiago de Cuba. He has taught history, philosophy, and aesthetics at the music and visual arts high school conservatories in Santiago de Cuba.
Ariana Hall is the Executive Director of the the CubaNOLA Arts Collective, a non-profit organization in New Orleans focused on the cultural connection between Cuba and New Orleans, Louisiana.
The essay was a collaborative project produced by CubaNOLA. Tomás Montoya González conducted the research and submitted the original essay in Spanish. Lori Tyler translated the essay into English. Guillermo Cabrera Rojo served as technical assistant and translator. Ariana Hall added contributions to the essay and edited the final translation. This article was prepared as part of the New Populations Project. See another article on this community, Music and Dance in South Louisiana's Cuban Community.
Notes
1. These materials are maintained in the Latin American Studies section of the Howard Tilton Library of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
References
Ortiz, Fernando, Fiestas Populares, Entre cubanos: psicología tropical, Editorial Ciencias Sociales, La Habana 1993.
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