“No evil lasts 100 years”: Lessons from Cuba’s Dictatorship

Because the year 2026 marks the centenary of Fidel Castro’s birth and ten years since his death at the age of ninety in November 2016, Elio Piedra, owner and director of Tu Fiesta Radio 95.7 FM, and I launched a series of discussions that explore the lessons and legacy of Cuba’s sixty-seven years of one-party rule through the history of Fidel Castro, its principal dictator.

Dr. Lillian Guerra Reads from the Journal of Cuban Studies’ 55th Edition (English)

In this edition of Ex-Libris, Dr. Lillian Guerra reads the editor’s note she wrote for the 55th edition of the journal of Cuban Studies, detailing the journal’s transition, the new leadership of the Series Editorial Board, and what is to come.

President Obama’s Historic Speech

President Barack Obama’s speech to the Cuban people, filmed live in Havana, March 22, 2016.

Tatlin’s Whisper #5 (2007)

In “Tatlin’s Whisper #5”, exhibited at the Tate Modern in London in 2007, Tania Bruguera challenges museum visitors to recognize their unconscious collaboration with the crowd-control efforts of two mounted police. This metaphoric performance exposes how average citizens can become complicit with authoritarianism and assist in the suppression of their own free will. (Hear the artist herself explain this piece in Conversatorio Cubano.)

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Elena Sheppard Reads from her book The Eternal Forest: A Memoir of the Cuban Diaspora

In this edition of Ex-Libris, author Elena Sheppard reads from her first book, The Eternal Forest: A Memoir of the Cuban Diaspora, a memoir detailing the exodus of her family from Cuba and the wrangling of identity, belonging, and Cubanness outside the beloved island.

Interview with Aracelis González Asendorf

In this edition of Ex-Libris, author, novelist, and 2024 Florida Book Award Gold Medal Winner Aracelis González Asendorf reads her short story, “Hector’s Woman”, published in Aster(ix) Digital Journal in 2022.

Interview with Dr. Margarita Vargas-Betancourt

For this addition of Ex-Libris, Dr. Guerra interviews Dr. Margarita Vargas-Betancourt, the Librarian of Latin American & Caribbean Special Collections at the University of Florida, and discusses her experience as an archivist, librarian, and historian in her decade and a half at UF.

Dr. Renata Keller reads the introduction of her new book, The Fate of the Americas

Dr. Renata Keller, associate professor of history at the University of Nevada, Reno, reads the introduction of her new book, The Fate of the Americas: The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Hemispheric Cold War.

Dr. Lillian Guerra Patriots and Traitors in Revolutionary Cuba

Dr. Lillian Guerra, Professor of Cuban and Caribbean History at the University of Florida, reads from her 2023 book Patriots and Traitors in Revolutionary Cuba, 1961-1981.

Dr. Raquel Otheguy Reads from Black Freedom and Education in Nineteenth-Century Cuba

Dr. Raquel Otheguy, Associate Professor of History at Bronx Community College, CUNY, reads from her newest book, Black Freedom and Education in Nineteenth-Century Cuba, part of the Caribbean Crossroads: Race, Identity, and Freedom Struggle Series of the University Press of Florida.

Dr. Lillian Guerra reads from Cuba’s Cosmopolitan Enclaves: Imperialism and Internationalism in Eastern Sugar Towns, by Dr. Frances Peace Sullivan

Dr. Lillian Guerra reads from Dr. Frances Peace Sullivan, associate Professor of History at Berklee College of Music, latest book- Cuba’s Cosmopolitan Enclaves: Imperialism and Internationalism in Eastern Sugar Towns.

Two Day Especial Event with Emilio Cueto

Please enjoy this special edition of Ex-Libris of the two-day event presented by independent scholar and prolific collector Emilio Cueto, commemorating the legacy and impact of the famed José Martí and discussing his new book, Cuba On the Labels: A Selection of Cuba-Themed Cigar Labels Printed Outside of Cuba.

Dr. Lillian Guerra reads from Frank País: Architect of Cuba’s Betrayed Revolution by José Álvarez

José (Pepin) Álvarez was born in Antilla, Cuba, and left his native Cuba in 1969. He obtained a Ph.D. in food and resource economics from the University of Florida and immediately went to work at the University of Florida/IFAS Everglades Research and Education Center in Belle Glade, Florida, where he finished a productive academic career in 2004, receiving the title of Emeritus Professor.

Dr. Anasa Hicks reads from her newest book Hierarchies at Home

Dr. Anasa Hicks, Timothy Gannon Associate Professor of Caribbean History at Florida State University, reads “Conjuring Ghosts: Domestic Service’s Remains After 1959,” the sixth chapter of her latest book, Hierarchies at Home: Domestic Service in Cuba from Abolition to Revolution, which “explores questions of race, gender, and ethnicity in a field of work with deep ties to Cuba’s slave society past.”

Dr. Jennifer Lambe reads from her newest book The Subject of Revolution

Dr. Jennifer Lambe, Associate Professor of History at Brown University, reads excerpts from the third chapter in her latest book, The Subject of Revolution: Between Political and Popular Culture in Cuba.

Dr. Daniel Jesús Fernández Guevara: Voces Olvidadas

Dr. Daniel Jesús Fernández Guevara reads from a dossier of documents edited by Lillian Guerra and himself, which they recently published in Volume 53 of the journal Cuban Studies. The dossier focuses on unknown writings and “unheard” voices of Cuban patriots, particularly those of women of all backgrounds and Black men.

Elizabeth Mirabal reads from La belleza de la inutilidad

On this edition of Ex-Libirs, Elizabeth Mirabal reads exerpts from her 2020 novel La belleza de la inutilidad.

CONVERSATIONS: The Guayo Collection

On March 21, Dr. Lillian Guerra and Martha Kapelewski presented the Smathers Libraries newest collection. The Eduardo “Guayo” Hernández collection contains documents, letters, newspaper articles, photographs, slides, correspondence, films, documentaries, and ephemera. Guayo was one of the premiere cameramen and journalists of pre-revolution Cuba. Guayo formed Noticuba, a news documentary production company that featured his documentaries in theaters.

Lisandro Pérez Reads from The House on G Street: A Cuban Story

Lisandro Pérez, professor in the Department of Latin American and Latinx Studies at John Jay College CUNY, reads selected passages from his book The House on G Street: A Cuban Family Saga.

Conversations: The Andrew St. George Collection Inauguration- Witness to Revolution: Cuba & the Photography of Andrew St. George

Gifted by Andrew Szentgyorgyi and his family, the Andrew St. George Collection contains over 8,000 photographs, negatives, slides, contact sheets as well as manuscripts and documents. The culmination of decades of family stewardship and years of archival and digitization work, the Andrew St. George Collection is an invaluable resource of materials.

Roberto González Echevarría reads from “Memorias del archivo” and “Cuban Fiestas”

Luminary scholar and Sterling Professor Emeritus of Hispanic and Comparative Literature at Yale University Roberto González Echevarría reads excerpts from two of his works, Memorias del archivo: una vida (in Spanish) and Cuban Fiestas (in English), diving into deeply personal stories and histories of the Cuban-born author.

Michael Bustamante Reads Chapter Six his Book, “Cuban Memory Wars”

Professor Michael Bustamante, Bacardí Chair of Cuban Studies at the University of Miami, reads from his pathbreaking book on the politics, violence, and culture wars that marked the emergence of Cuba’s exile and island identities, “Cuban Memory Wars.”

David E. Hoffman Reads the Prologue from his Book, Give me Liberty

Legendary editor of the Washington Post and Pulitzer Prize-winning author David E. Hoffman reads from his latest book, Give Me Liberty: The True Story of Oswaldo Payá and his Daring Quest for a Free Cuba, published in 2022. View the author’s website: https://www.davidehoffman.com/ Lillian Guerra · David E. Hoffman Reads the Prologue from his Book […]

Cuban Studies

Ex-Libris