Person: Viddal, Grete Tove
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Viddal
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Grete Tove
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Viddal, Grete Tove
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Publication Vodú Chic: Cuba's Haitian Heritage, the Folkloric Imaginary, and the State(2014-06-06) Viddal, Grete Tove; Monson, Ingrid T.; Herzfeld, Michael; Fernandez, Raul; Blier, SuzanneHundreds of thousands of Haitian agricultural laborers arrived in Cuba to cut cane as the Cuban sugar industry was expanding between the 1910s and the 1930s, and many settled permanently on the island. Historically, Haitian laborers occupied the lowest strata in Cuban society. Until relatively recently, the maintenance of Haitian traditions in Cuba was associated with rural isolation and poverty. Today however, the continuation of Haitian customs is no longer associated with isolation, but exactly the opposite. Cuba's Haitian communities are increasingly linked with cultural institutes, heritage festivals, music promoters, and the tourism industry. In Cuba's socialist economy, "folklore" is a valuable resource that demonstrates the unity of a multi-racial and multi-ethnic nation and attracts tourists. Music, dance, and rituals associated with Vodú have been re-imagined for the public stage. The "folkloric imaginary" creates new careers and opportunities for people of Haitian descent in Cuba. Haitiano-cubanos themselves have found innovative ways to transform the once abject into the now exotic, and are currently gaining a public presence in Cuba through folkloric performance.Publication Haitian Migration and Danced Identity in Eastern Cuba(University Press of Florida, 2010) Viddal, Grete TovePublication Vodú Chic: Haitian Religion and the Folkloric Imaginary in Socialist Cuba(Brill Academic Publishers, 2012) Viddal, Grete ToveDuring the first three decades of the twentieth century, hundreds of thousands of Haitian agricultural laborers arrived in Cuba seeking employment in the expanding sugar industry. Historically, Haitian cane cutters were marginal and occupied the lowest socio-economic status in Cuban society. Until relatively recently, the maintenance of Haitian spiritual beliefs, music, dance, and language in Cuba were associated with rural isolation and poverty. Today however, the continuation of Haitian customs is no longer linked with isolation, but exactly the opposite: performance troupes, heritage festivals, art exhibitions, the circulation of religious specialists, collaborations with research centers and academia, endorsement by music promoters, and the tourism industry. Cubans of Haitian heritage have found innovative ways to transform the abject into the exotic, and are currently gaining a public voice in cultural production, particularly through folkloric performance.