Cuban-Jewish Journeys: Searching for Identity, Home and History in Miami (review)

More than one million Cubans, approximately 10 percent out of a population of eleven million, now live outside their country. Their exodus began shortly after the Cuban Revolution when Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. By the end of 1960, 30,000 exiles were living in Miami, including 2,500 Jews, or one fourth of the total Jewish population of Havana. Since then, except for a few hundreds, the remaining Jews have fled the island, and the majority settled in Miami, the Florida city which has become the "capital of exile." Although there are extensive studies of the Cuban diaspora, none has previously focused on the Jewish community. It seemed like a good topic to explore to Caroline Bettinger-López when she was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan in the mid-1990s. Her work won her honors in anthropology and writing, but she did not rest on her laurels. She continued her research and revision of the manuscript. The humble origins of this book alone merit praise. Furthermore, as expressed in the foreword by Ruth Behar, professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan and Bettinger-López's mentor, the work combines "original, engaged, and rigorous research" with a fresh, caring, and critical outlook (p. xi).

The heart of the book is the interviews with Cuban-Jews as they tell their life stories. They recount their grandparents', parents', or their own painful experiences fleeing to Cuba from Nazism or communism; their lives on the island; their second exile in Miami; their hurtful realization that they were not welcome by Jews in the States, who could not understand how one could be both a Jew and speak Spanish; and the creation and growth of social and religious associations which kept them together and recreated Jewish traditions in Cuba and in Miami. These stories, however, are not offered in a vacuum but within a larger framework of both Jewish and Cuban history. This is one of the book's greatest assets, as it gives the reader a body of reference, which brings deeper meaning to the personal narratives. However, at times, it also becomes its worst flaw, since it often simplifies complex matters and even contains small, unnecessary historical errors. For example, in the introduction, Bettinger-López dates the American occupation of Cuba from 1902 to 1909, when, in fact, there were two occupations—from 1898 to 1902, and again from 1906 to 1908 (p. xxxv).

The oral interviews, as well as the inclusion of documents and photographs, reveal a valuable and until now untold story of the Cuban-Jews in Miami, focusing on their struggles to prosper and to become integrated into their host country without losing their identity. This identity is even more complex since it carries the rich heritage of their Jewish origin and religion, and their cubanidad. Bettinger-López also probes into deeper issues, such as gender roles and the changes in the community as the new generations, raised and sometimes born in the United States, came of age.

The book is written in clear, concise prose. Although the inclusion of quotations in Spanish and translated into English can become confusing and tiresome, particularly for the bilingual reader who is tempted to read both versions, it also enriches the book, since the nuances of the original language of the interviews are not lost.

Not only does the book contain dozens of oral histories, it also presents the author's own story as she develops her research and submerges herself in the lives of the Cuban Jews (Jubans) in Miami. Weaving together this larger history of Jews and of Cuba with a theoretical framework of diasporas, the oral histories, and the author's perceptions, feelings, and insights results in a colorful, immensely rich tapestry of interest not only to scholars but to...