The Cuban Sandwich: A History in Layers
Huse, Cruz & Houck
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As Fernando Ortiz studies the Cuban culture in the colonial era through ajiaco, the Cuban sandwich, in this manuscript, becomes a condensing symbol in modern Cuba. The Cuban Sandwich: A History in Layers (Huse et al.) studies a national Cuban meal in the political, historical, and social arenas. It is the story of those people who struggle between two worlds and two places and those who use another terminology for the word sandwich: emparedado, which means “‘to be walled’” (3) like those displaced Cubans. The Cuban Sandwich has a greater scope than the title might suggest. It gives a detailed description of the Cuban sandwich and at the same time engages the intellectual and historical context of the creation and popularization of this sandwich. For instance, even the shape of the Cuban bread is crucial. The authors examine the long and thin Cuban loaves in the historical context and show how people’s difficulties in having access to food and the resulting starvation affected the shape of the bread by making it thinner, “enabling hungry Cubans to cut small, conservative slices for rationing” (25). What else is so unique about this sandwich? The renowned chef and author, Van Aken, believes it is the combination of “meat, fat, acid, starch, and sweetness” (qtd. in Huse et al 78) in the Cuban sandwich that makes it exceptional. However, the sandwich, as the authors argue, is more than the bread, ham, and other ingredients. Each ingredient represents a story and has a meaning. In fact, the food is almost the only thing left for those Cubans who are forced to leave the country: “My theory on Cuban food and why they are so passionate about it resides in this: When you take away a people’s country, which is what happened via Fidel, you hold on to the things you can hold on to” (Aken qtd. in Huse et al. 80). Through identification with a national food, the Cuban sandwich, people seek to claim an individual and collective identity and resist “the revolution and the pressure to fully Americanize” (106). Between the bread slices, there are pickles and meat alongside pride, nostalgia, patriotism, and despair, “a virtual flag of Cuban exile that flies freely across the world” (143). |
The manuscript sheds light on a significant yet overlooked aspect of the Cuban sandwich’s story: the heritage that Havana, Miami, Tampa, Key West, and other places share in this regard (134). The Cuban sandwich, which has the very name of the island, becomes a powerful way to navigate the terrains of memory. The Cuban restaurants in the United States, for instance, become a site of memory, serving foods that bring back the memory of the home. They are able to create the illusion of Cuba through the simple pleasure of serving the Cuban sandwich (103). Even those Cubans who are born and raised in Miami, like Michelle Bernstein, are “heavily influenced by everything Cuban” (87). A great part of the book is dedicated to the Cuban diaspora and Cuban restaurateurs off the island, especially in Miami, where the Cuban sandwich became part of the city’s identity.
At times, the very name of the Cuban sandwich becomes a point of confrontation as Fidel Castro raised to power and the utopian dream of a better future turned into disillusion and disappointment. Changing the name of the Cuban sandwich became a tool in the hands of those who believed the new Cuba is not for everyone, as was promised by the revolutionary leaders:
At times, the very name of the Cuban sandwich becomes a point of confrontation as Fidel Castro raised to power and the utopian dream of a better future turned into disillusion and disappointment. Changing the name of the Cuban sandwich became a tool in the hands of those who believed the new Cuba is not for everyone, as was promised by the revolutionary leaders:
As waves of indignation rippled across the United States against Castro, the Cuban sandwich became something far too enjoyable for such a name. The Detroit Free Press reported that the Devon Gables restaurant had “severed relations with Cuba. What used to be the Cuban sandwich on their menu is now dubbed the Caribbean.” In Jacksonville, two eateries announced name changes, opting for the Latin American or Americana sandwich. A third sandwich maker disagreed with the name change, as it “wouldn’t be fair to the honest people in Cuba.” The Old Colony Restaurant in Tampa rechristened their sandwich the Cuban Bomb. (91)
The Cuban sandwich inside the revolutionary Cuba becomes thinner and occasionally disappears from people’s tables as “the Communist state never embraced the Cuban sandwich, perhaps for being too individual and private, or because the state could not afford to serve them at collective block parties” (93). Today’s Cuban sandwich in Havana is different from the one served in other parts of the world. Due to numerous economic difficulties, people on the island dream about their beloved sandwich.
Data for the study were compiled from different sources: empirical research, newspapers, interviews, etc. The Cuban Sandwich provides relevant historical background information on the social and political transformation of Cuba and through the study of the Cuban sandwich engages subjects like exile, identity, politics, gastronomic traditions, and memory in a cohesive collection of essays. Besides that, the book offers different recipes for making a good Cuban sandwich.
Data for the study were compiled from different sources: empirical research, newspapers, interviews, etc. The Cuban Sandwich provides relevant historical background information on the social and political transformation of Cuba and through the study of the Cuban sandwich engages subjects like exile, identity, politics, gastronomic traditions, and memory in a cohesive collection of essays. Besides that, the book offers different recipes for making a good Cuban sandwich.
Andrew Huse works as a librarian who specializes in archives at the University of South Florida Tampa Library's Special Collections.
Dr. Bárbara C. Cruz is Professor of Social Science Education at the University of South Florida.
Jeff Houck is a marketing and public relations manager for the Columbia Restaurant Group in Tampa.
The Cuban Sandwich: A History in Layers is a publication by the University Press of Florida.
Dr. Bárbara C. Cruz is Professor of Social Science Education at the University of South Florida.
Jeff Houck is a marketing and public relations manager for the Columbia Restaurant Group in Tampa.
The Cuban Sandwich: A History in Layers is a publication by the University Press of Florida.
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