Dumé Studio Group Artistic Declaration, 1970

Cuban exiles during the mid-twentieth century found many ways to express their identity, one of the main forms being art. This was through painting, writing, performing, or any other creative way exiled Cubans felt could express their relationship with their new life. 

Cuban diaspora

During the Cuban Revolution many citizens exiled themselves from the socialist movement that stripped them of property and luxuries. A large number then found their way to the United States. “The “first-wavers” emigrated before 1980 and were primarily of upper- and middle-class origins… they viewed themselves as political exiles” (Luna 3).

Herberto Dumé

This document relates to exiled Cuban playwright and performer Herberto Dumé. He decided to leave Cuba in his thirties after running the National Cuban Theater. In 1969 he formed the Dumé Spanish Theater in New York City and proceeded to produce, write, and perform productions he wanted to represent Cuban theater. The document describes the artistic statement, or intentions of the theater company during it’s second year of operation. Within the statement the sense of importance presenting Cuban culture to new audiences was to the theater company is stated multiple times, even referencing the large amounts of Cuban immigrants present in New York City at the time.

art of the Cuban diaspora

Nationalism and indigenous culture are common themes in many exiled Cuban artists work. The desire to create art that represents home helped create community during the initial wave of Cuban migration and has continued to present day (Smith et al 190-192). Cubans that were sent to America at a young age and unaccompanied cited researching indigenous culture from Cuba and incorporating visual aspects such as symbols into their art to communicate their heritage before colonialism. There is also mention in the document, as well as by other artists, of the importance of acknowledging and including those of the African diaspora that became a part of Cuban culture as a result of slavery in artistic representations of Cuban culture (Herrera 210-213). Many of these artists are still creating today and continue to uphold these ideas and themes in their work (Smith et al 192; Herrera 205-208)

works cited

Herrera, Andrea O’Reilly. “Cuban Art in the Diaspora: The “Chaos of Difference and Repetition”.” In Picturing Cuba: Art, Culture, and Identity on the Island and in the Diaspora, edited by Duany Jorge, 205-18. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2019.

Luna, Kausha. “Growing Numbers of Cuban Migrants in the United States.” Center for Immigration Studies (2016).

Smith, Laura, et al. “Identity, Migration, and the Arts: Three Case Studies of Translocal Communities.” The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, vol. 41, no. 3, 2011, pp. 186–197.

By Lilia Federico

Primary source

https://merrick.library.miami.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/theater/id/4714/rec/4