Conversatorio Cubano offers a unique depository of interviews and oral histories conducted with Cuba scholars as well as intellectuals, political activists, government officials, historians or simply average citizens in the last six decades of Communist Party rule in Cuba. Launched by Dr. Carmelo Mesa-Lago, one of the world’s leading economists and a key founder of Cuban studies as a field, this collection of interviews will help viewers to understand everyday life in Cuba, personal identities, choices, expressions of power and the constant stream of refugees that continues to define Cuba’s past, present and future.
- Interview with William (Bill) Messina
William (Bill) Messina, Research & Development Coordinator, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida, discusses his experience as an Agricultural Economist and co-founder of the Cuban Studies Program at the University of Florida.
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- Interview with Dr. Anasa Hicks
Dr. Anasa Hicks, Timothy Gannon Associate Professor of Caribbean History at Florida State University, discusses her book Hierarchies at Home: Domestic Service in Cuba from Abolition to Revolution, exploring racial harmony and the experience of Afro-Cubans working in domestic service.
- Interview with Dr. Jennifer Lambe
Watch the videoDr. Jennifer Lambe, Associate Professor of History at Brown University, discusses her latest book, The Subject of Revolution: Between Political and Popular Culture in Cuba.
- Interview with Dr. Alejandro de la Fuente
Watch the videoDr. Alejandro de la Fuente, the Robert Woods Bliss Professor of Latin-American History and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, discusses his time as the director and editor-in-chief of the Cuban Studies Journal and the state of ...
- Interview with Elizabeth Mirabal (Spanish)
Watch the videoProlific author Elizabeth Mirabal discusses her career and work in this first-ever Spanish edition of Conversatorio Cubano.
- Interview with Richard Denis, Ph.D. Candidate in History, FIU
Watch the videoIn this two-part interview, Atlantic historian Richard Denis, Ph.D. Candidate in History at Florida International University discusses the importance of journalism to Cuban history.
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- Dr. Jorge Duany Interview
Watch the videoDr. Jorge Duany, Director of the Cuban Research Institute and Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Global & Sociocultural Studies at Florida International University, discusses his latest co-edited book, Cuba and Puerto Rico : Transdisciplinary Approaches to History, Literature, and ...
- Interview with Dr. Roberto González Echevarría
Watch the videoSterling Professor of Hispanic & Comparative Literature at Yale University, Roberto González Echevarría, discusses his new memoir, life’s work as a literary critic, and deep ties to Cuba.
- Interview with Dr. Michael Bustamante
Watch the videoProfessor Michael Bustamante, Bacardí Chair of Cuban Studies at the University of Miami, discusses his pathbreaking book on the politics, violence, and culture wars that marked the emergence of Cuba’s exile and island identities, Cuban Memory Wars: Retrospective Politics in ...
- Interview with David E. Hoffman
Legendary editor of the Washington Post and Pulitzer Prize-winning author David E. Hoffman discusses his latest book, Give Me Liberty: The True Story of Oswaldo Payá and his Daring Quest for a Free Cuba, published in 2022.
- Interview with Dr. María de los Angeles Torres
Watch the videoLegendary political scientist Dr. María de los Angeles Torres discusses her most current work on Cuba’s long military intervention in the Angolan War (1976-1989) and reflects on her decades of experience and research in Cuba.
- Interview with Dr. Devyn Spence Benson
Watch the videoDr. Devyn Spence Benson, a historian of twentieth-century antiracist movements across the Americas and the Caribbean, focuses on the history of Black Cuba as well as the political polemics of her scholarship.
- Interview with Ashley Mayor
Watch the videoA graduate of the University of Florida (Class of 2014), Ashley Mayor is an associate curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
- Interview with Dr. Lisandro Pérez
Watch the videoA University of Florida graduate and pioneer of Cuban Studies, Dr. Lisandro Pérez founded the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University in 1991.
- Interview with Dr. Jorge Duany
Watch the videoIn his interview with the University of Florida’s Dr. Lillian Guerra, Dr. Jorge Duany, Director of Florida International University’s Cuban Research Institute, discusses the current Cuban refugee crisis.
- Interview with Dr. Carmelo Mesa-Lago
Watch the videoDr. Carmelo Mesa-Lago is one of the world’s leading economists and a key founder of Cuban studies as a field.
- Interview with Dr. Anasa Hicks