Latin American and Caribbean Center, FIU

The Cuban Research Institute is pleased to announce the winners of the 2007 Essay Contest:

Essay Contest in Cuban and Cuban-American Studies
Graduate Student First Prize:
“Cuban Culture in New York City: American Labor Unions and the Changing Face of Entertainment” by Julio Capó, Jr.

Graduate Student Second Prize:
“The Last Democracy in Cuba: 1948-1952” by Kelsey Vidaillet

Graduate Student First Prize:
“The Multiple Expressions of Identity in Cuban Art” by Paul A. Orta

Financial and academic support for graduate student research is one of the Cuban Research Institute’s core missions. The following are examples of recent research projects conducted by FIU graduate students interested in Cuban and Cuban American Studies.

Alma DeRojas earned a Master of Arts degree in Latin American and Caribbean Studies in 2004. The primary purpose of her master’s thesis, “Cubanía and Caridad: A Comparative Analysis of Cuban Marianism,” was to compare the present cultural and political significance of La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre for Cubans on the island and in exile, focusing on the Virgin’s role as a symbol of national identity. The secondary purpose was to explore the historical evolution of the Virgin’s myth through an analysis of documents and scholarly literature. In addition to participant observation, interviews of fifty Cubans were conducted at La Caridad’s shrines in Cuba and Miami. DeRojas’ field research in Cuba was made possible by a travel grant from the Cuban Research Institute. Her interviews reveal that the Virgin’s symbol continues to meet the religious, economic, political, and social needs of Cubans everywhere. Furthermore, the symbol reveals insights into the nature of Cuban national identity. The thesis concludes that the myth of La Caridad, like Cuban identity itself, is dynamic, complex, multi-dimensional, and fluid.

Frances Spiegel completed her M.A. in International Relations with an analysis of the Cuban American community in Miami’s paradox of simultaneous support for continuation of the trade embargo against Cuba while contributing to the financial wealth of the island by sending remittances. Her thesis, entitled “Cuban Americans on Remittances and the Embargo,” finds only a small percentage of the 100 Cuban Americans surveyed actually display contradictory behavior. Nineteen percent of those surveyed both supported the continuation of the trade embargo and reported to have sent remittances to Cuba during 2003. Of this group, only forty-two percent stated that they support the embargo because they believe that it is a functioning tool to incite a change of government in Cuba, while at the same time they send remittances to family and friends in Cuba which undermines the effects of the policy. The others cite either economic rationales for their support of the embargo, or identify the embargo as a symbol, not a functioning policy.