The Pliable Page: Turn-of-the-21st-Century Reworkings of Villaverde’s Cecilia Valdés

Abstract

This essay examines turn-of-the-21st-century responses to the foundational 19th-century novel by Villaverde, Cecilia Valdés, pointing to the ambivalence toward textual authority and migration as key elements in Cubans’ relationship to historical memory. The analysis of two plays, a puppet show, a novel, and works of visual and performance art, all of which have a textual element and were produced between 1994 and 2006, demonstrates the ongoing use of the Cecilia story to question key elements of Cuban historical memory. While contesting the legacy of the colonial and nation-building era, these contemporary works open a dialogue regarding narratives about Cuban migration, from the 19th century into the present. They unpack the established narratives about Cuba’s colonial period—slavery, race, socioeconomic class, and sexuality, and also contribute to new narratives about migration. The relationship between movement, authority, and textuality in these responses to Villaverde’s novel points to how 19th-century historical memory, and intertwined with that migration, are central to the ongoing renegotiation of Cuban identity. By re-working Villaverde’s novel—figuratively or literally manipulating the pages of Cecilia Valdés—Cuban writers and artists participate in a ritual of resignification that redefines lo cubano.