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Jubana!
A friend loaned me a book during the holidays she knew I would enjoy: “Jubana! The Awkwardly True and Dazzling Adventures of a Jewish Cubana Goddess” by Gigi Anders.
It has all the ingredients I like: Cuban Goddess, family nuttiness, assimilation, and journalism.
Anders is a journalist whose Eastern European and Russian relatives immigrated to Cuba in the 1920s and then immigrated to the United States during the Revolution.
The book is funny and bittersweet and a bit dark, too. I loved it for its honesty and rawness and for how well Anders captures la madre Cubana and the quirks of our culture.
My mom grabbed the book from me when she was here for the holidays, which is why I just recently finished it. She didn’t enjoy it as much as I did. Probably too much talk of family dysfunction and therapy for her liking. Me, I like quacks. I practically believe in a visit for every big occasion. And, I’m not even loca.
Anyway, the passage below stood out for me.
From page 137, Jubana!…
“The nonstop Castro-bashing mania over the airwaves, in restaurants, in people’s houses. The clannish provincial hysterics. All those things would have been my norm had my parents settled there instead of in our nation’s capital. And yet, sometimes I’ve been sorry they didn’t. Afterall, there’s strength in numbers, a sense of belonging and acceptance and solidarity.
“In Miami, Cubans know who they are. They never have to feel ashamed to be it. That’s one of the things I love most about going there, that instant unspoken understanding that nosotros somos Cubanos…”
I relate. I too get exhausted by Bearded Dictator mania when I return home. I do understand it, having touched Cuban soil and seen up close what our relatives — on both sides of the Florida Straits — have lost. But, when you don’t live it daily, re-entry can be a shock to the system.
Damn, I need a trip to Miami soon.
I do miss the loud.
I too loved this book!
See you in Miami in May? ;-)
May is a definite…
You going for Cuba Nostalgia?