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January

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Venue:Coral Gables Congregational Church, 3010 De Soto Blvd, Coral Gables, FL 33134

In this memoir of her life in Cuba until she was fifteen years old when she went into exile, Dr. Uva de Aragón tells the first-person story of her closest relatives, as well as her first games, readings, trips, teachers, schools, and friends. With an agile prose and a fresh look, she reveals the pain of the loss of her father at an early age and the illusions of first loves, as well as delicious anecdotes about cultural personalities she had the privilege of knowing.

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Venue:Virtual Event on Zoom

The year 2021 was an awakening moment for thousands of Cubans who took to the streets of the island to peacefully protest against the political regime that has prevailed for more than 60 years. Young academics and activists meet to discuss the relationships, sometimes not so obvious, between Cuban political life and racial imaginaries in the context of the most recent events that occurred on the island.

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Venue:Virtual Event on Crowdcast

In this book, Emilio Cueto documents the little known fact that, from time to time, Cuba somehow shows up in foreign postage stamps as well as in so-called "cinderellas" (resembling stamps, but not issued for postal purposes). It also appears in the design of souvenir sheets outside of the stamps themselves and in the cachets printed on commemorative envelopes and postcards. This is a fascinating story in itself and the one told in this book for the first time.

February

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Venue:FIU Modesto A. Maidique Campus, Graham Center Ballrooms

The Cuban Research Institute (CRI) of Florida International University continues its tradition of convening scholars and other persons interested in the study of Cuba and Cuban Americans by holding its Thirteenth Conference. We encouraged the submission of panels and papers concentrating on any aspects of the main conference theme, but considered all submissions relevant to the history, economy, politics, culture, society, and the arts of Cuba and its diaspora.

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Venue:Virtual Event on Zoom

The Cuban Diaspora Film Archive, together with the FIU Department of Modern Languages and the Cuban Research Instiute, invites you to a film screening and discussion of "Caidije: The Extensive Reality." Directed by Gustavo Pérez Fernández, the film documents the dance practices of the descendants of Haitian immigrants in Cuba.

March

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Venue:Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables, FL

Bringing together an unprecedented number of extensive personal stories, this book shares the triumphs and heartbreaking moments experienced by some of the first Cubans to come to the United States after Fidel Castro took power in 1959. David Powell conducted extensive interviews with fifty-four persons and uses those interviews to tell the story of the refugees who left Cuba between 1959 and the 1962 Missile Crisis, as well as those who embarked on the Freedom Flights (1965–73).

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Venue:SIPA 220 and Zoom

Three academics discuss the African rituals and other magico-religious manifestations that have been a constant aesthetic resource when representing Afro-Cubans in the theater: Drs. Jeniffer Fernández, Ivonne López Arenal, and Sarimé Alvarez.

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Venue:Sanctuary of the Arts, 410 Andalusia Ave., Coral Gables

Richard Blanco's poem "Looking for The Gulf Motel" transports readers to 1970s Florida, recalling a Cuban-American family’s vacations on the sparkling sands of Marco Island. Blanco and international superstar Gloria Estefan join Elisa New, Cuban-American adults in Miami, and middle school students in New York City to reflect on family and what it means to call a place home.

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Venue:Wertheim Performing Arts Center, Room 150, 10910 SW 17th ST, Miami, FL 33199

Join us for a journey through the "décima," a ten-verse poetic form that came to the New World from the Iberian Peninsula and expanded widely as a genre throughout Latin America. The concert features original décimas performed authentically from Spain, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Panama, and Argentina. The lecture focuses on the diffusion of the genre throughout the Americas, exploring pastoral influences, transatlantic identity, and the daily lives of rural bards.

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Venue:Books and Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables, FL

Drs. Eugenio M. Rothe and Andrés J. Pumariega outline the various psychosocial impacts of immigration on cultural identity and its impact on mainstream culture. Thoroughly researched, this book examines how cultural identity relates to individual mental health and should be taken into account in mental health treatment.

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Venue:Virtual Event on Zoom

Co-directed by Judy Kreith and Robin Truesdale, "Cuba's Forgotten Jewels: A Haven in Havana" is an award-winning documentary that tells the little-known story of Jewish refugees who escaped the horrors of Nazi-occupied Europe and found a safe haven in Cuba. Many of the refugees supported themselves in a newly created industry: polishing diamonds in Havana.

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Venue:Virtual Event on Zoom

David Prinstein and Marlén Fernández Borroto will describe the current situation of the Jewish community in Cuba, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. The lecture will also discuss the community's relations with Israel and other religious groups on the island. Dr. Ruth Behar will be the discussant.

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Venue:Coral Gables Congregational Church, 3010 De Soto Blvd., Coral Gables, FL 33134

In this memoir of her life in Cuba until she was fifteen years old when she went into exile, Dr. Uva de Aragón tells the first-person story of her closest relatives, as well as her first games, readings, trips, teachers, schools, and friends. With an agile prose and a fresh look, she reveals the pain of the loss of her father at an early age and the illusions of first loves, as well as delicious anecdotes about cultural personalities she had the privilege of knowing.

April

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Venue:Virtual Event on Zoom

The Ruston Academy was a private bilingual American school founded in Havana, Cuba, in 1920. It was forced to close in 1961, after the nationalization of all private schools on the island by Fidel Castro's government. Tony Leal's documentary, "Ruston Academy: From Dreams to Reality," is based on a book written by the school's director, James D. Baker, which seeks to capture the unique history and personal experiences of Ruston students.

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Venue:Virtual Event on Crowdcast

Dr. Abel Sierra Madero's new work reconstructs the systemic and structural character of forced labor and, more broadly, state violence in Cuba. The book focuses on the Military Units to Aid Production (the UMAPs, their Spanish acronym), which operated between 1965 and 1968 in the province of Camagüey, as repressive enclaves of a totalitarian society. Dr. Lillian Guerra will present the book.

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Venue:Virtual Event on Zoom

In this third instance of our "Briefings on Cuba" series, Dr. Ruth Behar examines a timely issue, the renewed but difficult family ties between Cubans on and off the island during the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Behar explores telling examples of how many Cuban Americans have attempted to bridge the gap between the island and the United States over the past two years.

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Venue:Virtual Event on Crowdcast

Edited by Eloy Núñez and Ernest G. Vendrell, this book tells the stories of several Cubans in exile, all of whom overcame great obstacles to escape the Castro regime. Neither a history of Cuba nor of Castro, the book illuminates the underrepresented legacy of the Cuban exile community and celebrates its continued thriving in a new country.

May

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Venue:Virtual Event on Zoom

Based on a decade-long multinational archival research, this lecture by Dr. Jorge Felipe-González will discuss the role that U.S. merchants played in training the first generation of Cuban-based slave traders, connecting them with regions in Africa, and providing them with expertise in the human trafficking business.

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Venue:Virtual Event on Zoom

Kimiko Nicole LeNeave aims to understand the impact and significance of Latin America's song movements by highlighting the ways transnational networks of musicians and insurgents developed. Uniting Cuba and its hemispheric neighbors, she explores the extent to which Movimiento de Nueva Trova and Nueva Canción Chilena animated the politics of the socialist Left during Latin America's Cold War.

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Venue:Green Library, Room 220

The Academy of the History of Cuba in Exile will induct two new members: Dr. Santiago Juan-Navarro (Florida International University) and Dr. José Azel (independent scholar). The respondents to their lectures will be Luis Leonel León, president of the Florida Chapter of the Academy, and Dr. Raúl Eduardo Chao, a member of the Florida Chapter.

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Venue:Virtual Event on Zoom

This lecture by Sophia Kitlinski explores the movement of ritual objects from Cuba to Africa and Europe, specifically those belonging to the Abakuá, an all-male Cuban secret society with roots in West Africa.

June

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Venue:Green Library, Room 220

Professor Ramón Gómez will discuss the professional trajectory of the Cuban flutist José A. Fajardo and his orchestra. Fajardo was one of the greatest promoters of Cuban music in the United States after his exile in the 1960s.

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Venue:Books and Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables, FL

Drs. Rita Molinero and Yolanda Izquierdo will present their new anthology of critical essays focusing on the life and work of Reinaldo Arenas. Their anthology seeks to be a sincere and deserved posthumous tribute to the writer, as well as to legitimize his work condemned to ostracism in Cuba.

Summer Institute for Teachers | The Study of Cuban History and the Cuban-American Experience

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Venue:FIU MARC Pavilion, UM, and via Zoom

Organized by the Miami-Dade County Public Schools and cosponsored by CRI and other units, this three-day training program for K-12 teachers will explore recent Cuban history and the impact of the post-1959 exodus on Miami and the United States.

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Venue:Green Library, Room 220

Dr. Jorge Piñón will highlight Cuba's dependence on Venezuelan oil imports and the possible loss of that supply. As a result, Cuba's electric power system would very likely collapse and bring the island to the brink of an economic, social, and political collapse.

July

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Venue:Virtual Event on Zoom

"A Cuban Documemory" is a feature-length documentary film by Cuban American filmmaker Marissa Chibás in collaboration with Cuban artist Aissa Santiso. Chibás reflects on her many travels to Cuba since 1993, from her unique perspective as the daughter of an exiled Cuban revolutionary leader and runner up Miss Cuba. This film is a visual memoir that focuses on Chibás’s family stories and the search for home.

August

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Venue:Virtual Event on Zoom

Drawing upon findings from her book, "Weapons of Mass Migration," Dr. Kelly M. Greenhill will offer a detailed exploration of the strategic manipulation of threatened and actual population movements in pursuit of political, economic, and/or military ends. Among other topics, she will explore the 2021 Cuban-Nicaraguan visa-free travel deal, recent migration talks between the U.S. and Cuba, and the markedly increasing number of Cuban migrants seeking to enter the U.S. via the Mexican border.

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Venue:Books and Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables, FL

In this book, Cuban music researcher and producer Rosa Marquetti Torres reconstructs the beginnings and development of the career of the most universal of Cuban singers, Celia Cruz. The book is based on an exhaustive investigation in multiple media, including the press of the time, interviews and testimonies, as well as texts by the singer, found in archives and sources in Cuba, other Latin American countries, and the United States.

September

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Venue:Virtual Event on Crowdcast

Edited by Drs. Consuelo Naranjo Orovio and Miguel Ángel Puig-Samper, this volume examines the relations between colonialism and racism in various fields, such as medicine, literature, the natural sciences, theology, the history of slavery, visual culture, gender studies, and miscegenation. It proposes to show how the ideological resources of social control and racial superiority were built and functioned, along with resistance to discrimination and stigmatization of Afro-descendants.

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Venue:Books and Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables, FL

Join us for a celebration of the Spanish translation of "Cuba's Digital Revolution," edited by Drs. Ted Henken and Sara García Santamaría. The book examines both government-enabled paid public web access and creative workarounds that Cubans have designed to independently produce, distribute, and access digital content. Contributors trace how media ventures, entrepreneurship, online marketing, journalism, and cultural e-zines have developed on the island alongside global and geopolitical changes.

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Venue:Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables

This edited volume is a compilation of essays written by young scholars from different disciplines, countries, and nationalities. The texts cover several areas of Cuban culture, from literature and anthropology to music and architecture. The editors' purpose was to put into dialogue various zones of Cuban studies, which vary in their academic traditions, world region, and language.

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Venue:Frost Art Museum, 10975 SW 17th St, Miami, FL 33199

Curated by Dr. Amy Galpin, this new art exhibition will explore Cuban and U.S. landscape painters largely active from 1850 to 1910 whose portrayals of Cuba reflect political, social, and ideological changes in both countries. "In the Mind's Eye" is accompanied by a catalogue published by Giles, Ltd., featuring essays by Drs. Jorge Duany and Katherine Manthorne, and interviews with artists Juana Valdés and Carlos Martiel conducted by Donette Francis and Elvia Rosa Castro.

October

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Venue:Virtual Event on Zoom

Organized by FIU's Department of Modern Languages, this is the third of three webinars featuring well-known Cuban playwrights who live outside of Cuba and whose plays have been staged by Alexa Kuve's theater group in Miami. The participants in the webinar include Dr. Cerstin Bauer (University of Munster), Habey Hecheverría, Alexa Kuve, and Dr. Maida Watson (FIU).

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Venue:FIU Modesto Maidique Campus, Green Library (GL) 220

In this talk, Dr. Beatriz M. Marqués will focus on renowned Cuban writer Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda (1814–1873), whose writings were indispensable in the creation of a Cuban national identity, as well as the representation of marginalized communities, such as slaves, mulattoes, and disadvantaged women.

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Venue:Coral Gables Congregational Church of Christ, 3010 De Soto Blvd., Coral Gables

The Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs and the Cuban Research Institute have partnered with the Florida Grand Opera to create a unique cultural program on Cuban Miami. The event will feature two Cuban-American writers and a scholar as well as live performances of passages from Domenico Cimarosa's classic opera "The Secret Marriage," reset in Miami during the 1980s.

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Venue:FIU Modesto A. Maidique Campus, Graham Center 150

Drs. Guillermo Grenier and Qing Lai will discuss the main findings of the latest edition of the poll, the longest-running research project tracking the public opinions of the Cuban American community in South Florida.

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Venue:FIU Modesto Maidique Campus, LACC Conference Room, DM 353

This talk by Dr. Petra Kuivala will first analyze the ways in which the Church has produced a social commentary in recent years and, second, examine the Catholic Church as a transnational actor in humanitarian relief efforts in contemporary Cuba. Drawing on fieldwork and an analysis of written content from the island, the talk argues that in such areas of society, the Catholic Church occupies a distinct mediating role among the people, popular discontent, and state power.

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Venue:The Wolfsonian-FIU, 1001 Washington Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139

"Turn the Beat Around" replays the artistic exchange between Cuba and the United States, illustrating how musicians of both nations produced a new sound by riffing off their neighbors. Showcasing posters, record and sheet music covers, film clips, and audio from the 1930s on, the exhibition will chart the explosion of collaborative creativity driven by Hollywood musicals, American dance studios, and Cuban performers, bringing to life the musical fusion found between cultures.

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Venue:Green Library, Room 220

This lecture by Dr. Frank Luca will examine how U.S. tourists encountered Afro-Cuban rhythms in Cuban cafes and cabarets since the 1930s. Hollywood movies helped spread the rhythms throughout the United States, while Cuban musicians enriched and transformed the U.S. music scene. After 1959, Cuban exiles made sure that Cuban rhythms continued to influence American dance culture.

November

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Venue:American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora, 120 Coral Way, Miami

Virgilio Piñera's complete plays, published in 2002, do not include at least five works, among them the first play he wrote. This lecture by Dr. Enrico Mario Santí will focus on these five plays, the multiple reasons that explain their dispersal, and the importance of recovering them.

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Venue:Green Library, Room 220

Organized by FIU's Department of of Modern Languages, this panel discussion will examine Antonio Benítez Rojo's legacy in studies of Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly in the fields of literature and culture. The event will be accompanied by a film screening and photographic exhibition honoring Benítez Rojo.

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Venue:FIU Modesto Maidique Campus, LACC Conference Room, DM 353

Kimiko LeNeave's research seeks to understand the impact and significance of Latin American song movements during the Cold War, particularly in Cuba, between the 1960s and 1980s. This lecture will discuss the birth, life, and legacy of this Cuban song movement.

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Venue:FIU Modesto A. Maidique Campus, Room 220, Green Library

The documentary "Persona," directed by Eliecer Jiménez Almeida, was an award winner at the International Festival of Poor Cinema in Gibara, Cuba. The film was later exhibited at the Cinematographic Criticism Workshop in Camagüey—where state security intervened. It has not been shown in Cuba since.

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Venue:Virtual Event on Zoom

Organized by Dr. Gene Rosenberg from FIU's Department of Biological Sciences, this panel will bring together a group of Cuban specialists on the island's coral reef system, currently living in Cuba and abroad. They will share some of their main research findings on the conservation and restoration of marine biodiversity in Cuba.

December

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Venue:FIU Wertheim Performing Arts Center, 10910 SW 17th St., Miami, FL

Drawing on unseen archives, interviews, and survey data, Dr. Susan Eckstein highlights how Washington transformed Cuban exiles from agents of U.S. Cold War foreign policy into a politically powerful force influencing national policy. Comparing the exclusionary treatment of neighboring Haitians, the book discloses the racial and political biases embedded within U.S. immigration policy.