Rethinking the Cuban Revolution Nationally and Regionally

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2009 saw the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. The celebration not only offered an opportunity to mark the survival of Revolution, but also presented a time for reflection, reassessment and reform, in recognition that the Revolution was at a crucial stage in its trajectory. It is widely accepted amongst Cubanists that it is not possible to attribute the unexpected endurance of the Revolution solely to political or economic factors. Indeed, one of the more unique aspects of the Revolution, at least for its first 30 years until the economic crisis of the 1990s, was the way in which socio-cultural practice and political participation enabled personal visions of the Revolution to interact with national versions of cubanidad - the essence of being Cuban - and cubanía revolucionaria. As a result, the contributions within this work rethink the relationships forged between the national and the regional, and the past and the present in contemporary Cuban political, social and cultural life, and offer new perspectives based on inter-disciplinary methods. In so doing, they reassess both the national survival of the Revolution beyond the Special Period, and propose new approaches to cultural and political identity in Cuba.