Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Representing The Revolution: Public History and The Moncada Barracks in Santiago De Cuba

2012; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 37; Issue: 73 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/08263663.2012.10817030

2333-1461

Anita M. Waters, Luci Latina Fernandes,

Asian American and Pacific Histories

Is history still the handmaiden of the Cuban revolution, as Louis A. Pérez argued 30 years ago? In this article we explore how historical narratives, specifically concerning the Moncada Barracks assault of 1953, are incorporated into Cuban political culture. The event—the opening salvo in the armed struggle against Fulgencio Batista—is arguably the most commemorated event in Cuban revolutionary history. A close examination of commemorative practices, especially the contents of three museum exhibits in Santiago de Cuba, show that an aura of religiosity is cultivated around the victims of Batista's backlash against the rebels. The exhibits work to link the Moncada assault with other key events in Cuban history and to reinforce the status of the Moncada generation as the canonical generation of Cuban history.