The authors describe a month-long unit on Afro-Latin@ identity in which third grade students began with a discussion of complex questions with which many historians, anthropologists, and scholars struggle to make sense. The goal of this month-long unit was to have students adopt the lens of cultural anthropologists as they explored the historical…

Throughout his life, Alejo Carpentier was a tireless collector of paintings, sculpture, musical recordings, and folklore objects. In light of Carpentier's Swiss birth and many years of residence outside of Cuba, the act of collecting plays a crucial role in defining the relationship between the author and Latin American culture in his life and…

Studies have shown an absence of Afro-Latin American culture at all levels of Spanish instruction. In this essay, I propose the use of film to expand the undergraduate curriculum. Film provides both a visual and cultural narrative for the understanding of Latin American history, culture, and literature, and is an invaluable resource for teaching…

In this article, the author tells the story of the 22-month program involving the political exodus of thousands of Cuban children to the United States in the early 1960s. Fearing communist indoctrination and the rumor of patria potestad--the government assuming legal guardianship of their children--Cuban parents sent their unaccompanied children…

In the spring of 2010, 16 Recreation and Leisure Studies students from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, travelled to Cuba to complete a fourth-year field class titled International Field Experiences in Recreation and Leisure. After a week spent in Havana, Brock University students engaged in a unique outdoor education experience. With…

The Caribbean has long afforded U.S. and Canadian geographers with a rich venue of study-abroad opportunities. Physical and human geography classes are particularly well-suited to the myriad political, social, and environmental landscapes of the region. This article summarizes a few key experiences that have emerged in forging study-abroad venues…

This article discusses the growing interest of scholars studying the connections between Asian and Hispanic populations and cultures. Scholars examining transnational communities and relationships often fend off skepticism from peers in longer-established, clearly defined academic disciplines who wonder about the relevancy of their pursuits,…

This article features the book "Rebel Literacy: Cuba's National Literacy Campaign and Critical Global Citizenship," by Mark Abendroth, a step-child of the Critical Pedagogy Program at the University of Saint Thomas. As a scholar-activist, Abendroth has produced a courageous and prescient volume that will impact the field of critical…

This article provides an overview of the main Protestant theological seminaries in Cuba: Western Cuba Baptist Seminary, Cedars of Lebanon Seminary, The New Pines Evangelical Seminary, Evangelical Theological Seminary, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center, Nazarene Theological Seminary and International School of Theology. The history and…

The rooster is an important symbol in Cuban culture. It represents strength and power. It is considered a compliment for a male to be called a rooster. Jesus Rivera, a folk artist, who is best known for using Cuban symbolism in his ceramics and illustrations, visited the class described in this article. Senor Rivera described the culture of Cuba…

This article outlines the events that have led to Cuba's current engagement with global capitalism and the implications for Cuban education. The author looks at what Noam Chomsky (1999) has repeatedly referred to as "Cuba's trouble making in the hemisphere," such as it is. The author answers the question, "Why does the US government…

This article provides a summary of the Cuban Revolution and its implications and consequences for Christian higher education in Cuba. Christian institutions experienced the same oppression from the communist revolution as the rest of the evangelical denominations during the sixties and seventies. The worst period for Protestantism began in 1965…

Discusses the work of children's author Alma Flor Ada, a Cuban native who has won awards honoring Latino writers and illustrators. Includes part of an interview that explores her background, describes activity ideas, and presents a bibliography of works written by her (several title published in both English and Spanish) as well as sources of…

For more than forty years the governments of the United States and Cuba have maintained an adversarial relationship toward one another. Much of the negativity is expressed through verbal accusations, but at times there have been several destabilizing and sometimes dangerous actions by one or both governments such as the 1962 Missile Crisis,…

A significant number of Hispanic children's books and juvenile short stories and novels produced in the last two decades reveal the social and cultural elements that affect the lives, traditions, and beliefs of young adults from Spanish-speaking countries. These books contain sociocultural realism, yet with a touch of the innocence and freshness…