Relations between Cuba and the United States sometimes seem as heated today as they did during the days of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The tension of those years led to a mass exodus of hundreds of thousands of Cuban exiles settling in the United States. Some of these exiles include Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan, and the parents of Pitbull. These Cuban-American musicians have each found progressively more success in the American popular music industry. From Grammy awards to Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles and lucrative restaurant, cologne, and hotel deals – each has earned commercial and popular success solidifying them as exemplars of the American Dream.
However, most Americans still know little about Cuba save for the three Cs: Castro, Communism, and cigars. Each artist has carefully navigated the geopolitical tensions, under the watchful eye of Miami’s Cuban-American power players, when it comes to their relationship with these three Cs, especially when they are representatives of the community on the national stage.
This paper will analyze the ways in which these musicians have employed their musical hits and public personas to simultaneously shorten and widen the 90 miles distance between the U.S. and Cuba in respect to mainstream musical palatability and political posturing respective to the eras in which they achieved their peak popularity. All three musicians are anti-Castro but express these sentiments to varying degrees – based on their immigration status, sex, race, and birth year. I will also demonstrate how their musical and political commentary parallels the evolving attitudes and identities of the Cuban-American community towards Cuba and its politics.
About the presenterHoracio Sierra
I am an Assistant Professor of English at Bowie State University. I earned my PhD in English from the University of Florida and my BS in Communication from the University of Miami.