This Is Cuba: An Outlaw Culture Survives [Paperback]

Ben Corbett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2004

Beyond the throngs of tourists streaming through Central Havana's broad Prado Avenue, and outside the yoke of Castro's 43-year-old Revolutionary program, there exists a parallel Cuba - a separate evolution of a people struggling to survive. With personal stories that depict a people torn between following the directives of their government and finding a way to better their lot, journalist Ben Corbett gives us the daily life of many considered outlaws by Castro's regime. But are they outlaws or rather ingenious survivors of what many Cubans consider to be a forty-year mistake, a tangle of contradictions that has resulted in a strange hybrid of American-style capitalism and a homegrown black market economy.At a time when Cuba walks precariously on the ledge between socialism and capitalism, This Is Cuba gets to the heart of this so-called outlaw culture, taking readers into the living rooms, rooftops, parks, and city streets to hear stories of frustration, hope, and survival. Updated with a new preface.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

With its provocative subtitle, freelance journalist Corbett's new book on Cuba certainly is not sponsored by the Cuban department of tourism. Nor is it a treatise from the Miami exile community. Rather, it is an honest, behind-the-scenes look at everyday Cubans dealing with life and survival. They are pawns in the great chess game between two looming ideologies: the capitalist United States, which never recognized the legitimacy of the Cuban Revolution, and the Socialist government under Castro, which is determined to continue the struggle. These ordinary folk spend an inordinate amount of time trying to make ends meet and stretch their meager resources (and ration books) from month to month. Where contrary political expression is dangerous, they resist in subtler ways: buying or selling goods on the black market, making illegal money off the tourist trade, or even getting tattoos. More daring Cubans take to the seas. Yet perhaps Fidel's stubbornness and belief in Cubanidad ("Cubaness") has paid off in an unintentional way. "They are now prepared to defend Cuba's destiny," concludes Corbett of Cubans. "And in the preparedness, perhaps Castro achieved the greatest victory of all." Recommended for all large academic and public libraries.
Lee Arnold, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"...an honest, behind-the-scenes look at everyday Cubans dealing with life and survival." -- Library Journal

"...the first book I've read that offers a complete--and accurate--treatment of life in contemporary Cuba." -- Christopher P. Baker, author of Moon Handbooks: Cuba

"...the heartfelt testimony of someone who has immersed himself in Cuban life." -- Seattle Times

"A credible tour of modern Cuba." -- Rob Meltzer, Milford Daily News

"Offers a picture of the complex, contradictory, and chaotic island that remains the final battleground of the Cold War." -- Rocky Mountain News

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (March 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813342244
• ISBN-13: 978-0813342245
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #752,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Writer, photographer and author Ben Corbett has spent the past fifteen years cultivating an original voice in American journalism. Contributing to magazines and newsweeklies from coast to coast, his byline and images have appeared in venues as far flung as VH1 and High Times, to Salon.com, Tattoo, Easyriders, Kirkus Reviews, Relix, Iron Horse, Crawdaddy! and many others. Corbett's award-winning current affairs book, "This is Cuba: An Outlaw Culture Survives" (Basic)--now in its sixth printing--was endorsed by two former ambassadors to Cuba as the best book written about modern life on the island. In 2001, Corbett became the first American photographer to join Cuba's official photography association since the 1959 revolution. He was also the first American reporter to cover Cuba's explosive body art scene, its outlaw motorcycle subculture, and its illicit underground drug trade. Primarily an alternative journalist and culture writer, Corbett maintains his standing as a human rights and environmental reporter, as well as a scholar of Latin American affairs and North American Indian issues. Most recently, Corbett contributed the biographical sketch for the Literary Edition of Hunter Thompson's visual biography, "Gonzo" (AMMO), which includes a foreword by Johnny Depp. You can also see one of Corbett's conversations with Thompson in the important anthology of interviews, "Ancient Gonzo Wisdom" (DaCapo). To learn more about the author, please visit his homepage at www.bencorbett.net.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A bit apologetic, but a good first-hand account, November 29, 2004

By 

Jerry Brito (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: This Is Cuba: An Outlaw Culture Survives (Hardcover)

Ben Corbett's "This is Cuba" is a frustrating read, at least for a Cuban-American with family still living on the island. On the one hand Corbett lived in Cuba, lived among the people, and contributes an undeniable first-hand account of life there. On the other, he refuses to make a clear judgment about the sociopolitical system he recounts.

The book's thesis is that Castro's regime has so perverted incentives, that every Cuban, in one way or another, breaks the law every day. That in order to survive, Cubans must be outlaws. But rather than condemn such a system, Corbett sheepishly asserts that this is only the result of misapplied socialism, and that if only things were done better, it would all work out.

The book is also riddled with incorrect translations from Spanish that make you wonder about the rest of the book's foundations. It also contains many inaccurate cultural references, such as calling La Virgen de la Caridad Cuba's "patron saint"; she is the Virgin Mary. It is frustrating that most American readers will not catch the mistakes.

Despite these criticisms, however, I would still recommend this book. Corbett lived in the island, saw what went on with his own eyes, and such an eyewitness account is very valuable. Even if he sometimes equivocates, his descriptions of crumbling buildings, unscrupulous block snitches, and the resilient character of everyday Cubans is good.

One important theme Corbett draws out in this book is how the Castro regime has become completely dependent on the tourism trade and has made the Cuban people completely subservient to that interest. First-person stories of this development are key to understanding today's Cuba.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enorme!, May 9, 2006

By 

Jotas Jimenez (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Is Cuba: An Outlaw Culture Survives (Paperback)

I am Cuban and I been living in this great country the USA for 26 years. Most of my family still lives in Cuba and everything Mr. Corbett writes in this book is true. I disagree with maybe one or two things, but when I finish reading this book I thought it was great that finally someone wrote a book so honest about my country. When it comes to Cuba nobody ever ask the Cubans what they think. Mr. Corbett did ask and he lets the people tell their stories. He wrote this book very humble and it feels good to know some people are listening instead of having all the answers like all of these people that goes there for a week and think they know Cuba. Most people writes about how great Castro is and how the Cubans love him, a lie. Also I want to correct this reviewer below. The title of this book, This Is Cuba, is an expression we have in my homeland. When someone asks maybe "Why does the people here make only eight dollars a month while Castro buys for himself an airplane for fifty million?" A Cuban will answer "Because This Is Cuba!!!" If you really want to know Cuba then you should read this book and maybe Before Night Falls and Dirty Havana Trilogy.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cuba: Good and Bad, February 26, 2004

By 

Andrew Desmond (Neutral Bay, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: This Is Cuba: An Outlaw Culture Survives (Hardcover)

I visited Cuba in March 1997 and have always been drawn back to books that allow me to vicariously revisit the country.

Ben Corbett's book manages to walk a fine line between an admiration for Cuba (especially her people) and often stern criticism of the Castro regime. It differs, therefore, from many other books about Cuba. Corbett is no Miami based Cuban exile with a chip on his shoulder but nor is he a naïve promoter of the Communist Party government. In short, Corbett has real credibility.

From another angle, Corbett is clearly no blow in visitor who, after a week or two in the country, regards himself as some sort of expert. Instead, Corbett has visited the country on a number of occasions and for considerable lengths of time in each case. He has immersed himself in the country from a variety of perspectives and has clearly travelled widely and met a host of individuals, many of whom he now counts as friends.

It seems to me that Corbett has a love for Cuba but a distinct distaste for the regime. Yet for all this, he has no axe to grind. Far too many critical Cuba commentators are allied with the exile communities in Florida. Unfortunately, for all the errors and flaws of the regime, its hasty end may well herald the return of the exiles and a still less than positive outcome. There may be no velvet revolution.

I recommend this book to all readers interested in Cuba and its future.