Bridging Enigma

The enigma of Cuba’s resistance to the collapse of socialism around the world is equaled by the fact—surprising to some outsiders—that the Cuban cultural movement remains healthy, even with the problems brought about by the breakup of the Soviet Union. Represented in this issue of South Atlantic Quarterly by artwork, essays, short stories, and interviews, Cuban art and literature continues to produce dramatic testimony to a struggle for survival and a shared belief in the Cuban revolutionary project’s right to exist and develop on its own terms.

Fostered by both caution and audacity, in a climate of both trust and tension, and in the face of sustained North American hostility through nearly four decades, Cuban artists and writers have succeeded in building bridges between domestic and foreign cultural institutions, partly offsetting the profound material deprivations under which they have labored. The work collected in this volume introduces a group of writers, artists, and filmmakers who provide a window on Cuban life, illuminating this enigmatic island and bridging the troubled waters it shares with its continental neighbor to the north.Contributors. Arturo Arango, Emilio Bejel, Rosa Ileana Boudet, Roberto Fernández Retamar, Ambrosio Fornet, Rafael Hernández, Francisco López Sacha, Humberto Manduley López, Vivian Martínez Tabares, Margarita Mateo Palmer, Miguel Mejides, Reinaldo Montero, Lisandro Otero, Graziella Pogolotti, Magda Resik, Cintio Vitier