The Cuban Revolution and the New Left

Understanding overlooked dimensions of the Cuban Revolution and its impact on the global left in the 1960s and beyond

This volume reconsiders revolutionary Cuba’s global influence by shifting the focus from high-level political leaders to perspectives traditionally sidelined, offering new insights into how everyday lives, family dynamics, and notions of gender and sexuality impacted revolutionary transformation. Its expansive scope uncovers ties among Cuba and Latin America, the United States, Africa, and Asia, examining the interplay of global forces including new models of mass consumption, feminist and LGBTQ movements, and national liberation struggles.

Chapters include analyses of Chinese reinterpretations of a Cuban play, Angela Davis’s influential visits to the island, Cuba’s complex relations with Black militants in Angola, and a Mexican transgender and disability activist who reimagined Che Guevara’s legacy. They also present research on Cuba’s solidarity campaigns with Vietnam, foreign journalists who covered the revolution, the role of consumption and fashion, and the lasting impact of the revolution’s refugee policies on exiled children and families from the Southern Cone.

Through its interdisciplinary sociocultural approach, this volume challenges conventional top-down narratives by foregrounding the interplay between grassroots actors and transnational affairs. It is an essential resource for scholars, students, and anyone interested in the multilayered stages of the Cuban Revolution and its continued relationship with global politics and culture.

Publication of this work made possible by a Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.