Girl Like Che Guevara by Teresa de La Caridad Doval

Product Details

Synopsis

"Amusing, observant. . . . Doval's sense of place and devastating
depiction of prejudice in 1980s Cuba make this a
worthwhile debut."-The Miami Herald

"[A] piquant coming-of-age novel."-O magazine

"Absolutely remarkable . . . explodes with brilliance."
-Carlos Eire, National Book Award-winning author of
Waiting for Snow in Havana

"A rich and perceptive portrayal of daily life in Cuba."
-Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

Sixteen-year-old Lourdes is a dedicated and proud revolutionary
who spends the summer of 1982, along with her
peers, at the "School-in-the-Fields," tilling tobacco fields to
prove her dedication to Fidel and the revolution.

But she is also a study of contradictions. Lourdes outwardly
scoffs at the old ways but wears an azabache amulet
under her clothing, next to her Che medallion, to ward
off evil spirits. She secretly prays to the orisha Yemayá while
she pledges her fealty to Fidel and the secular socialist ideals
of her father, a professor of scientific Communism at the
University of Havana. She develops a crush on her roommate
at the camp, but, like many other things in the socialist regime
under which she lives, same-sex relationships are forbidden.
Like other girls her age, she longs to wear smuggled
Jordache jeans and drink Cuban coffee, to watch American
cartoons and eat steak whenever she wants. All simple pleasures,
all denied her by the same revolution she serves.
What she has are the harsh realities of life in a glorified
work camp, which lead her to question her allegiances. Why
does she want to be likeChe?

Teresa de la Caridad Doval was born in Havana, Cuba, in
1966. She attended the University of Havana and earned a
BA in English literature and an MA in Spanish literature.
She left Cuba in 1996 and currently lives in Albuquerque,
New Mexico, with her husband.

Biography

Teresa de la Caridad was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1966. She attended the University of Havana and earned a BA in English Literature and an MA in Spanish Literature. She left Cuba in 1996 and is currently lives in Albuquerque, NM, with her husband.