In Cristina Garcia’s novel Dreaming in Cuban, there are many examples of one theme that has been common throughout the novels we have read so far in the class: magical realism. Garcia incorporates a world that is real, but influenced by otherworldly phenomena in the context of Cuba, a country that has had a precarious relationship with the Western world.
In the novel, one of the main characters Celia del Puente, has an experience with a ghost right at the beginning of the novel. She sees the ghost of her recently deceased husband, Jorge, walking across the ocean towards her, glowing as she kept a vigil for El Lider. She is surprised, but realizes that her husband, who she has not seen in almost four years, is dead. Seeing him is a momentous occasion for her, because due to her sighting of her dead husband, she pledges her life to El Lider, Fidel Castro, though surprisingly throughout the novel his name is never actually mentioned.
Celia’s daughter Lourdes experiences spirits from the beyond in the novel as well. She lives in New York City, and that is where her father was because he was sick. After his death, Lourdes began to see her father as she returns home from work, and talks to him, since she does not have someone else to talk to. Lourdes’s husband and daughter have a special relationship that, in my opinion, mirrors the relationship Lourdes and Jorge had. Lourdes is left out of the loop, so for guidance and confidence, she sees her father’s spirit and talks about her life and what is going on. Jorge is an escape, a best friend, for Lourdes even though he is dead.
Santeria is present in the novel, with the character of Felicia. Felicia is Celia’s second daughter, and in the novel, it becomes apparent that Felicia is mentally unstable. She tries to kill her husband by setting his face on fire, and she tries to kill her only son by crushing pills over his ice cream. Eventually, Felicia is taken away from her son, and she spirals out of control until she lands with her feet firmly in Santeria. Although Santeria is a religion, there is a sense of the magical around it. Santeria priests and priestesses believe in many gods, and the religion is rich with rituals and sacrifices to the gods. Communicating with the dead is another part of Santeria, although that type of communication is not present with Felicia’s character.
Dreaming in Cuban is a novel rich in details, narrative, family struggles, and of course magical realism. The novel has been highly praised, and it is one of my favorite books from the course so far. I am glad that we had the chance to read another novel that dealt with the other-worldly, the magical.
Magical was one theme that I noticed in the novel. Like you said, it starts right in the beginning with Celia sees her husband walking towards her. I remember my mother telling me when she my grandpa died she would see him walking around the house. My grandmother saw him walking around as well. When my uncle passed, my grandmother would mourn and speak to him up until the point where she heard a huge voice tell her "stop!" I connected with the magical realism in this novel through the stories that my mother told me.
ReplyDeleteAs we talk more and more about this book the magical realistic elements become more visible to me. There are a lot of magical elements in this book. I really liked how you pointed out that Pilar and her father share the same bond as Lourdes and her father did. I think it must be interesting and hard for her to sort of feel like her mother might have when she and her father were so close. I also think it is interesting that Jorge seems to stay with Lourdes much longer than he does with any other member of his family.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy magical realism quite a lot, and I was really glad for encountering it in Dreaming in Cuban. Magical realism is really common in Latin American literature, especially considering the influence of the renowned Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Encounters of ghosts are very important in many Latin American societies. In Chimbote, Peru where I had service during SST, my host mom often talked about the "espiritus" that lived in my bedroom. I was also asked to visit the grave of her recently deceased mother, and even talk to her. Even though I have spent the vast majority of my life in North America, this did not really bother me, because my literary choices have made me very familiar with this way of experiencing the world. I actually found my host family's way of remembering and continuing their love for a family member to be both interesting and refreshing.
ReplyDeleteThe magical realism of Dreaming in Cuban combined with the political history definitely connected it very much in my mind to literary traditions south of the United States. Part of my was really happy to see a US Latina author get back to her Latin American "roots," in a way, and I was happy to read yet another great example of magical realism.
Rikki, you do a great job of exploring some of the many scenes of the supernatural in Dreaming in Cuban. It's interesting that so many of the characters' desires are projected onto dead or missing persons. Do you see Santeria as part of the magical realism in this novel, or are dreams and religion just two of many different ways to access the border between the material and the spirit world? How does is magical realism used to develop the Cuban character of this novel?
ReplyDeleteCorrection: It's Celia del Pino (del Puente is the last name of Rufino and Pilar).