The Havana Habit

October 1, 2010

Introducing Havana--no, not that Havana, the land of Fidel, Che, and revolutionary fervor, but Havana as imagined in American arts and culture. Cuban-born scholar Perez Firmat (humanities, Columbia Univ.) explores the city's significance to film, music, fiction, dance, television, and that staple of American culture, the Cuban cigar. The lively text, supplemented with various illustrations, makes for a distinctive reading experience on America's fascination with what Frederic Remington termed the "Havana Habit" as far back as the middle of the 19th century. Most of Perez Firmat's material and examples are from the pre-Castro Havana of the 1930s and 1940s, the image of Cuba in the American consciousness that never fully disappeared, even after the arrival of communism. The final chapter brings readers full circle with its coverage of Castro and his lasting influences. VERDICT Highly recommended both for specialists and for those newly exploring the subject.--Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., AL

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September 15, 2010
Change is coming to Cuba, and inevitably the American relationship with Cuba will change. This short, breezy, and often amusing examination of American perceptions of Cuba is both timely and informative; these perceptions have always been rather idiosyncratic. As P'rez Firmat indicates, the island has seemed so near and yet so foreign. So he traces this sense of exoticism as it has evolved over two centuries, while placing it within the context of historical developments. He uses a variety of mediums, including literature, cartoons, music, television, and film. Travel writers in the nineteenth century veered from describing a tropical paradise to stressing the filth, decadence, and danger of daily Cuban life. In the first half of the twentieth century, American music and especially films helped create an image of Cuba as a lush, tempting playground and sensuous delight. After the Cuban Revolution, perceptions became sinister and threatening as represented by the image of bearded, hostile commandantes or violent drug-pushing refugees like Tony Montana in the film Scarface. P'rez Firmat has handled this topic with a light, humorous touch without diminishing its more serious aspects.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)