Jose Rodriguez
SPAN 2750
Professor Torres
Dreaming In Cuban
Dreaming in Cuban is a book that has to do with three generations of women and their assimilation into the United States as well as their traditional roots, which derive from Cuba. The novel is centered during The Cuban Revolution; there are four main characters throughout the novel (Celia, Lourdes, Pilar, and Felicia). This book gives really good examples of diversity between Cubans. Dreaming in Cuban also touches on incestuous relationships as well as resentment between families.
Dreaming In Cuban begins with Celia; she is an ageing woman who devotes most of her time and life to the Cuban Revolution. The novel has lots of flashbacks and one way in which you can tell the book has flashbacks is the letters Celia writes to Gustavo Sierra de Armas, Gustavo is Celia’s first love that she can’t seem to get over. Throughout the book she writes about two decades worth of letters to him. Celia would write to Gustavo on the eleventh day of each month, the funny thing is she would never send the letters to him she would keep them in a box hidden away. She stops writing to him in 1959 when The Revolution succeeds and she becomes a Communist.
Lourdes is Celia’s oldest daughter; she suffers a lot in this novel. To start off she is resented by her mother (Celia) also she is raped and tortured. Due to the fact that she is raped she becomes pregnant and loses her unborn son. Lourdes decided to leave Cuba and move to the United States, in the book she says that she wants to live somewhere cold so they drive up all the way to Brooklyn, New York and she decides to live their with her husband Rufino and her daughter Pilar. Lourdes decides to open a bakery business, which is called Yankee Doodle bakeries, she hopes to have a chain of bakeries so she can have “The American Dream”. Throughout the book she develops eating disorders because she feels like something is missing in her life and she gains 118 pounds. Lourdes eventually begins to see her father (Jorge) and they start to have a strong bond. Jorge eventually starts to fade off and essentially leaves for good.
Pilar who is Lourdes daughter, has a telepathic communication with her grandmother (Celia). Pilar is the first one to go down south and return to Cuba. She begins to resent her mother because of what her mother has become Pilar describes her mothers view on the world as black and white. Pilar also begins to resent her mother after Lourdes not wanting Pilar to go to art school and become something of herself other than just another employee at her mothers bakery business. Pilar looks up to her grandmother more than Lourdes because Celia has always supported her.
Felicia is Celia’s youngest daughter she gets married three times but her first marriage is probably the worst one of them all. Her first marriage was with a man named Hugo Villaverde. Hugo abuses Felicia throughout the book and he eventually abandons her and her children (Luz, Milagro, and Ivanito). Felicia later becomes a bit crazy and frustrated with Hugo so while he is sleeping she decides to kill him. She throws an oil rag, which she lights with fire, aims for his head and the rag burns his face and his hands. Luz and Milagro begin to resent Felicia because of the fact that she is a bad mother towards them and they begin to call her no-mama and just tell Felicia that they love her even though they don’t mean it. Ivanito doesn’t like the fact that they don’t like his mother so he decides to form an “alliance” with her. He does whatever she asks of him and he actually likes his mother. Throughout this Ivanito begins to look a lot like his father and Celia begins to wonder if the close bond that Felicia and him have has to do with that. In my opinion I believe that the fact they were so close was that Felicia was looking at him as if he were Hugo and she began to like him in a different way other than a son, this would be a perfect example of incest.
In conclusion, this book was a great read and it shows close ties between Cuban families and also how they try to assimilate into American culture. I believe that Pilar Puente wrote this book because Celia gave her the letters at the conclusion of the book so who else would have wrote it? I think that she did and I believe this novel was based on a true story.