April 27, 2007 - 4:00 PM
El lector (the reader) de tabaquería is someone whose profession is that of reading newspapers, magazines and literature to cigar makers while they are working. Based on historical and literary texts, this book explores the way in which reading aloud is a link to the past, particularly to pre-industrial times, when reading aloud both in public and private spaces was the rule.
Through meticulous research, the author explains how and why this institution took root in Cuba in 1865 and follows exiles from Cuba’s wars of independence as they resumed reading in cigar factories in Spain, the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. In this seminar, Prof. Tinajero will discuss lectores in Tampa, Fla., and contemporary Cuba.
“Este libro es una de las contribuciones más importantes y oportunas al conocimiento de la cultura cubana que se han hecho en mucho tiempo, y quedará como un hito en el conocimiento de su historia.”
– ROBERTO GONZÁLEZ ECHEVARRÍA, Yale University.
Araceli Tinajero is Assistant Professor of foreign languages and literature at City College of New York, City University of New York. She has written extensively reading practices in the Caribbean, the United States and Spain, and on Asian representations in Latin America. El lector de tabaquería: Historia de una tradición cubana received Honorable Mention from Premio Casa de las Américas in 2006.
Please note: this presentation will be in English and Spanish.
Moderator: Alfonso Quiroz, Professor of history, The Graduate Center and Baruch College
