"Guide, manual, labyrinth, intricate thicket of reality and fantasy, a work of high literary modernism, scholarly treatise, or an example of the 'marvelous real'? Lydia Cabrera's El Monte is a magical, poetic, and idiosyncratic rendering of Afro-Cuban religious beliefs and practices. We are fortunate to have a collection of essays that approach this baffling and charming book from different perspectives and disciplines: anthropology, ethnobotany, the visual arts, literature, history, queerness, and ecology. These essays reveal that El Monte is more than a text, it is a journey filled with new beginnings." - Alan West-Durán, author of Afro-Cuban Religions and the Arts: A Dog Has Four Legs But Takes One Path
"Vibrant, daring, and deeply grounded, this book reimagines Lydia Cabrera's work for our time. Moving across literature, ethnography, and visual culture, the essays uncover how Cabrera's El Monte continues to breathe through the Caribbean's art, spirituality, and politics. This collection proves that Cabrera's forest of symbols is still very much alive and more relevant than ever." - Mabel Cuesta, associate professor, University of Houston
