Contested Heritage – Narratives of Belonging in Republican Cuba

Vanessa Ohlraun History Department / Centre for Atlantic and Global Studies Leibniz Universität Hannover vanessa.ohlraun@hist.uni-hannover.de Working title: Contested Heritage – Narratives of Belonging in Republican Cuba Abstract: This paper analyses the dual nature of civic status and civic practice from a historical perspective by looking at the myth of the “raceless nation” in Republican Cuba (1902-1959) and its reliance on constructions of cultural heritage. This was an important period of nation building for many postcolonial countries in which Western notions of civilization, progress and modernity were adopted to develop a sense of national identity. Race played an important role in the discourses on citizenship as Cuba was defining the character of its new citizenry, struggling to come to terms with its post-slavery present. The ideology of “racial uplift” was central to these debates, as was the focus on Afro-Cuban traditions in the shaping of national identity. Both became instrumental in socialising, educating and integrating the “new citizen” of Republican Cuba in all social spheres, from school education to civic and political associations. While politically, the Black population was given only limited access to Cuba’s civic institutions, culturally, the African heritage of Cuba was celebrated and offered afro-descendent artists, writers and musicians legitimacy as citizens of the new nation. Their art as well as religious practices were being redefined as representing the essence of Cuban identity, or Cubanidad, especially by social scientists and politicians of the predominantly white elite. As promises of full citizenship and inclusion were not being met, however, afro-descendent Cubans contested these nationalist discourse of identity and belonging. By analyzing the ideology of the “raceless nation”, ideas of “racial uplift” and constructions of national heritage as expressed in the Cuban press, focusing on the writings of Black authors, this paper aims to give a historical perspective on two related political research questions of relevance today: In how far does colourblindness produce rather than dissolve racist civic practices in the context of modern liberal democracies? How is the production of heritage used to legitimate or disguise practices of inclusion and exclusion? Keywords: Citizenship, Latin America, Narrative, Race, Representation Brief information about the presenter: I’m an anthropologist and doctoral researcher in the history of Latin America and the Caribbean at the Leibniz University Hannover. My research areas are the colonial past, legacies of slavery and cultures of remembrance, political concepts of representation and identity in postcolonial societies of the 20th century (especially Cuba and Indonesia), poststructuralist theories in cultural anthropology and history, and decolonizing education.