Tulane University

“Racism vs. Socialism: A conflict out of place. Mapping the Cuban Racial Debate, Internal Colonialism, and the New Racist Economy”

Roberto Zurbano Torres (1965) is a writer and essayist, cultural critic, and anti-racism activist. He is the author of the books Elogio del lector (1990), Ramón Rubiera: un astro ilusorio (1992), Poética de los noventa: Ganancias de la expresión (1994), Los estados nacientes: Literatura cubana y postmodernidad (1996), and essays such as Raza, literatura y nación: el triángulo invisible del siglo XX cubano, El rap cubano: un discurso hambriento de realidad and Cuba 2012: Doce dificultades para enfrentar los neo-racismos. He is a two-time winner of the DADOR, a Cultural Journalism award, and the Medal for National Culture. His works have appeared in Temas, La Gaceta, Universidad de La Habana, La Letra del Escriba, Casa de las Américas, Catauro, Movimiento, Afrohispanic Review, Meridional, and the New York Times.

Zurbano works at the Centro de Investigaciones Literarias at the Casa de las Américas. He has given lectures all around Latin America as well as Europe, specializing in popular culture, race, music, and black writers in Latin America and the Caribbean. Through his work in activism he recently founded the Proyecto Pichon Haitien, which promotes the contributions of Haitian immigrants to Cuban national culture. He is a member of the UNEAC, LASA, and Articulación Regional Afrodescendiente de América Latina y el Caribe, Capítulo Cubano (ARAAC).

This event is free and open to the public. The talk will be given in Spanish. Sponsored by the Cuban & Caribbean Studies Institute. For questions email ccsi_at_tulane.edu.