ABSTRACT
Investing heavily, America rebuilt Cuba in its own image: American fashions, films, automobiles, and consumer goods were all the rage. Appreciating how rapidly they were joining industrially advanced nations, many Cubans condoned the changes permeating the island. The American presence had notably deleterious effects. Cubans understood how predicated their independence was on demonstrating their capacity for self-governance. Cubans, then, felt obliged to repress whatever they assumed Americans opposed: primarily, the African component of their culture. To exploit Cuban natural resources to maximum effect, Americans encouraged Cubans to learn English, practice American social codes, and master American business habits. Some Afro-Cubans internalized the prejudices and grew ashamed of their own backgrounds. To avoid these stigmas, several black organizations forbade certain dances and the use of drums, hoping to convince whites that blacks had relinquished “African” customs. Black imagery gained prominence as Cubans came to resent American “protectionism.”
