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[xi] acknowledgments I owe a debt of gratitude to so many people who have encouraged me along this journey. First and foremost, I would like to thank my friends and colleagues at Auburn University who welcomed me in 2007 with open arms and are truly dream colleagues in every sense of the word. I am especially indebted to Morris Bian, Donna Bohanan, Christopher Ferguson, Charles Israel, Ralph Kingston, and Kenneth Noe, who offered their incredible encouragement, advice, and editorial skills along the way. As a graduate student at the University of New Mexico, I benefited tremendously from the guidance and support of Judy Bieber, Melissa Bokovoy, Kimberly Gauderman, Linda Hall, Elizabeth Hutchison, and Jane Slaughter. I am also indebted to the numerous institutions that provided the financial support necessary for me to complete this project. The University of New Mexico’s Latin American and Iberian Institute Field Research Grant provided funding for my preliminary research trip to Havana during the summer of 2000. A Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant and a University of New Mexico Latin American and Iberian Institute Ph.D. Fellowship allowed me to live and work in Cuba in 2003. Finally, a CCWH/Berkshire Conference of Women Historians Graduate Student Fellowship, an American Historical Association Albert J. Beveridge Grant for Research in the History of the Western Hemisphere, a University of New Mexico Latin American and Iberian Institute Ph.D. Fellowship, and a Dean’s Dissertation Scholarship provided much-needed financial support during the final writing phase. Havana has been a second home to me since 1996, when, as an undergraduate student at Southwestern University, I received my first opportunity to conduct research in Cuba. As my fascination with Cuban history has evolved and expanded since that time, so too has my circle of beloved Cuban friends and colleagues. Specifically, I would like to thank the faculty and staff at the Instituto de Historia in Havana. Among the many generous individuals who facilitated my access to archives, discussed the nuances of my topic, and directed me to key resources, I must thank Yolanda Díaz Martínez, Mercedes García Rodriguez, Amparo Hernández Denis, Belkys Quesada Guerra, and Raquel Vinat. I also offer my sincerest gratitude to my [xii] Acknowledgments Cuban family—Luis René Fernández Tabío, Mercedes González, and Luis Carlos Fernández González—whose beautiful home in Havana has been the site of many of my most cherished memories over the last seventeen years. Over the course of my research, I have relied on the expertise (and tried the patience) of a number of generous archivists and librarians. In Cuba, I benefited greatly from the assistance of staff members at the Archivo Nacional de Cuba (especially Bárbara Danzie Martínez), the Archivo Histórico Provincial de Matanzas (especially Alejandrina Diaz and Caridad Acosta), the Museo de Historia de las Ciencias en Cuba “Carlos J. Finlay,” the Biblioteca Nacional José Martí, and the Archivo del Instituto de Historia. In the United States, I received kind assistance from staff members at the Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas at Austin, the Manuscripts and Archives Collection at Yale University, and the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. I am also grateful to the staff at the Archivo General de Indias in Seville, who were tremendously patient and accommodating during a whirlwind trip to Spain in 2008. Many thanks also to Elaine Maisner at the University of North Carolina Press and to Louis Pérez Jr. and the anonymous reviewers whose support and guidance improved this final manuscript considerably. I am truly honored that this book is in the Envisioning Cuba series and to have worked with such an exceptional press. During all the years of my nomadic academic wanderings, my family has been a safe harbor. My beloved parents, Wade and Gail Thomas, have offered their home and their friendship without hesitation. My siblings, Jared Thomas and Lauren and Anthony Menn, are truly some of my favorite people. Their encouragement continues to propel me to greater heights. A special thank you also to “my girls,” Susan Biles, Lisa Brown, Adrianne Hodgin Bruce, Amanda Nowlin-O’Banion, and Amy Scott, who have been my friends for so long that I can hardly remember my life before they became a part of it. Thank you for being a touchstone for me all these years. Finally, a special thank you to the four men who have changed...

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