Cuba, Between History and Legend/Cuba, entre la historia y la leyenda
by Oscar M. Ramírez-Orbea, Ph.D.
Rating:
Reviewed by: John L. Hoh, Jr.

This delightful book, by Dr. Oscar M. Ramírez-Orbea, author of Cuba, I Remember You, takes the reader back on another delightful journey to the author’s native homeland, Cuba. This book does not go back to the author’s life or to the politics of Cuba. Rather this book straddles the history, legend, and lore of that island nation. It is difficult to classify this book. The author explains it this way:

The book you have in your hands is not a history book. It is also not a book about Cuban legends. Its subject matter lies somewhere in that gray in-between. Each story is based unquestionably on fact, at least in part. There is concrete historical evidence for some aspects—and sometimes for most aspects—of each tale. Around these historical facts, however, the Cuban imagination (as well as this author’s own interpretation and rendition of events) has created a pearl of legend by layering over each grain of truth. It is in this world of unavoidable and delightful ambiguity that the characters, events, and settings narrated in this book live and breathe.

This book contains nine stories with a basis of history but layered with legend and myth. The nine stories are “The Mouth of Hell / La boca del Infierno,” “Kidnapped y Pirates! / ¡Secuestrado por piratas!!,” “Isn’t It Romantic? / ¡Ay, pero qué romántico!,” “Aimless / Sin brújula,” “The Hardest Thing / Lo más duro,” “Letter to an Unknown Woman / Carta a una desconocida,” “Heaven-sent / Don del Cielo,” “The Secret / El secreto,” and “The Interrogation / El interrogatorio.” As you can tell this book, like Cuba, I Remember You, is written in both Spanish and English. This makes it possible for both English and Spanish speakers to read this book. It can also be employed to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) or for English-speaking students to learn Spanish. There is a beauty to the Spanish prose that makes reading the Spanish, even if I am not conversant in the language, a romantic adventure.


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