The Cubans

Ordinary Lives in Extraordinary Times

By: Anthony DePalma

Narrated by: Robertson Dean, Anthony DePalma

"[DePalma] renders a Cuba few tourists will ever see . . . You won't forget these people soon, and you are bound to emerge from DePalma's bighearted account with a deeper understanding of a storied island . . . A remarkably revealing glimpse into the world of a muzzled yet irrepressibly ebullient neighbor."--The New York Times

Modern Cuba comes alive in a vibrant portrait of a group of families's varied journeys in one community over the last twenty years.

Cubans today, most of whom have lived their entire lives under the Castro regime, are hesitantly embracing the future. In his new book, Anthony DePalma, a veteran reporter with years of experience in Cuba, focuses on a neighborhood across the harbor from Old Havana to dramatize the optimism as well as the enormous challenges that Cubans face: a moving snapshot of Cuba with all its contradictions as the new regime opens the gate to the capitalism that Fidel railed against for so long.

In Guanabacoa, longtime residents prove enterprising in the extreme. Scrounging materials in the black market, Cary Luisa Limonta Ewen has started her own small manufacturing business, a surprising turn for a former ranking member of the Communist Party. Her good friend Lili, a loyal Communist, heads the neighborhood's watchdog revolutionary committee. Artist Arturo Montoto, who had long lived and worked in Mexico, moved back to Cuba when he saw improving conditions but complains like any artist about recognition. In stark contrast, Jorge García lives in Miami and continues to seek justice for the sinking of a tugboat full of refugees, a tragedy that claimed the lives of his son, grandson, and twelve other family members, a massacre for which the government denies any role. In The Cubans, many patriots face one new question: is their loyalty to the revolution, or to their country?

As people try to navigate their new reality, Cuba has become an improvised country, an old machine kept running with equal measures of ingenuity and desperation. A new kind of revolutionary spirit thrives beneath the conformity of a half century of totalitarian rule. And over all of this looms the United States, with its unpredictable policies, which warmed towards its neighbor under one administration but whose policies have now taken on a chill reminiscent of the Cold War.

Feels like you’re walking alongside the people of Cuba

This was a great book giving you a glimpse of the people Cuba and their life.

Enlightening and eye-opening

I wish this book had been available prior to my 2020 trip to Cuba (2 weeks prior to the COVID-19 shutdown). I would have viewed the country with a deeper understanding of the strength of everyday Cuban citizens. This book has enriched my perspective. I highly recommend this book!

Historical details

Captivating and engaging- a reminder of the continued pain and struggle yet the perseverance and resilience of the Cuban people.

Enlightening

DePalma’s decision to interview ordinary people from Cuba gives the reader a better sense of the micro-effect of the Castro revolution than do accounts written by political types or historians. It is riveting as you get to know and feel the pain and frustration of these remarkable people. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

And of course, Robertson Dean is the best

The real Cuba

I’ve been to Cuba many times and I’ve traveled far beyond the tourist locations. Anthony DePalma filled in many details that haven’t appeared in other books I’ve read. His beautiful writing makes the people real and integrates the history.
It is said Cuba is Complicated. It is less so with this book.
There was extra joy in revisiting the places mentioned in the book and reliving my time in the Pearl of the Antilles.