Russia plays multiple roles in the work of Prieto–a commercial strategy, an object of nostalgia and a veil behind which appears Cuba. Prieto’s own choice of subject matter
establishes him as a voice of the Russian diaspora within the Hispanic world. The author may not have had the final say in decisions regarding titles of his translations, cover art, etc., but in each of these cases the final products reflect a strategy (be it Prieto’s or his publisher’s) of marketing Russia. Though Prieto’s narrator at times faces a kind of xenophobia that reflects poorly on Russia, much of the portrayal of Russia has the tone of nostalgic reminiscences of an émigré who writes from Russian culture towards Hispanic culture, translating the Russian experience for his readers. Prieto’s works add a new dimension to the diasporas of both Russia and Cuba, serving as a reminder to the field of Cuban literary studies that there is a Russian component to the Cuban diaspora.
He carefully reconstructs Russia for his Hispanic readers, taking advantage of traditional novelistic elements such as setting, character and language, as well as adding more unique aspects such as the philosophy of frivolity. The goal of opening Russia to his readers is stated openly in Enciclopedia and is shared implicitly, to varying degrees, by his other works. Such attention is given to the reproduction and exploration of Russian culture that Russian reviewers have seen Prieto’s work as a piece of Russian literature. And yet, the centrality of Russia to Prieto’s work does not result in the complete erasure of his native
51
antes and Enciclopedia, the reflections on the politics of the fall of the USSR open
themselves to being read as reflections on and criticism of socialist Cuba. In these works we see what may be termed an “émigré trauma,” an experience which provides interesting parallels and contrasts to the trauma of exile. His later novels Livadia and Rex do not dwell on the rejection of socialism, and thus they do not share this angle of political commentary on Cuba. They do, however, continue to offer scenes of the Cuban narrator trying
unsuccessfully to blend in with his Russian surroundings. The struggles of Prieto’s narrator show the inescapable nature of nationality. Any definition of these works as post-national will have to acknowledge the curious bursts of cubanidad which the narrator experiences from time to time. The experience of Otherness in Russia is one of the most interesting aspects of Prieto’s writings. His works, which at first glance so carefully avoid nationality, in fact return to it as a central, though often implicit, theme. Not even a polyglot traveler in a world of fading borders can escape his body, which–whether through skin color or dance style–fixes and displays his point of origin.
Interesting work remains to be done regarding the influence that the experience of Russia has had on Cuban literature. Organizing my study along a spectrum of proximity to Russia, I will begin with a look at writings from the island about Russia, such as Manuel Pereiras 1982 novel El ruso. The vision of Russia produced by other Cubans outside of the island may be seen in Alejo Carpentier’s La consagración de la primavera (1978) and Jesus Diaz’s Las palabras perdidas (1992) and Siberiana (2000). At the closest point to Russia, we find actual Cuban immigrants to Russia, such as Prieto, or bi-national authors, such as Anna Lidia Vega Serova and Polina Martínez Shvietsova. The study of these authors could be complemented by a look at the image of Cuba seen in Russian literature. Though Cuba never
occupied the Russian imaginary to a great degree, such well known Russian authors as Danil Granin and Evgeny Evtushenko devoted pages to it in their works. Martínez Shvietsova is currently compiling a bilingual anthology of Russian-Cuban writings that will help to bring to the fore the group of bilingual authors and the relations between both literary traditions. This aspect of the Cuban diaspora has received relatively little attention and is fertile ground for future study. My thesis has been an attempt to bring to light the rich avenue of
53 Notes
1 The 1989 USSR census lists 2,811 Cuban residents, though it does not mention whether this total includes university students. By the time of the 2002 census, the number of Cubans in Russia had dropped to 707.
2 To avoid confusion when citing this essay as opposed to the short story, I will note in parenthesis that the citation comes from “Nunca antes” essay if the source of the citation is not explicitly named in the context.
3 The pseudonym is borrowed from Michael Psellus, an eleventh-century Byzantine writer and philosopher well-known for his service as advisor to numerous emperors, and is an example of Prieto’s penchant for subtle historical or literary references.
4 This most recent story does not share the narrator-protagonist common to all of Prieto’s Russian fiction.
5 The page numbers for Prieto’s short story collection are taken from the 2002 reprinting.
6 This section of Enciclopedia is taken verbatim from his earlier short story “Nunca antes habías visto el rojo.”
7 The rise of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina to the top of the bestseller list in the United States in 2004 testifies to the American public’s appetite for things Russian, though it also indicates the power of endorsements made by Oprah Winfrey.
8 The sole exception is the 1998 edition of Enciclopedia, which mentions only his work as a translator. The omission was corrected for the 2004 reprinting.
9 The words in capital letters are a part of Prieto’s unorthodox style in this particular novel. He explains the structure of Enciclopedia as being that of hypertext (Pacheco). Each word that has its own entry appears in all caps whenever it is used throughout the novel, thus making clear the web of interrelated terms which help to explain each other and which, when considered all together, form the “encyclopedia” of a life in Russia.
10 Prieto is referring here to Vera Khalodnaya, the leading female star of silent Russian cinema. He explains Khalodnaya’s biography to the reader earlier in Enciclopedia (94-96).
11 In fact, the Chinese Palace was originally built as a dacha, or country cottage, by Catherine the Great, who ruled Russia from 1762-1796.
12 A parallel comes to mind between this orientalist and Prieto, who in his fiction surrounds himself with things Russian.
13 Here I use the term Russian in a non-ethnic sense. Batyk, as a Buryat, belongs to one of the traditional ethnicities of the Russian Federation. He is a citizen by birth of Russia, whereas the narrator is not.
14 Russian speakers use the name of the son of Noah somewhat like English speakers use the word jerk.
15 It bears noting that this particular custom is one that had changed by the time I arrived there in 2004.
16 We should note that Prieto published this essay in 2001, long after he adopted and articulated the philosophy of frivolity. Thus, the denunciation of the Fiestas de Quince as “¡tan frívolas!” should certainly be read as tongue-in-cheek.
17 The letter itself is authentic and is accurately quoted by Prieto. However, others have interpreted it as allowing for a “special” kind of socialism in Russia. For his part, Prieto says that all of the letters quoted in Livadia are real (Gómez 58).
18 The effect of Prieto’s time in Mexico and the US may be discernible in Rex, for in this latest novel the narrator does not seem as concerned with maintaining a Russian identity.
19 This quotation offers a good example of the unorthodox syntax used in Rex. The syntax is something between conversational and scatterbrained, with the narration jumping to a second thought before finishing the first one.
55
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Prieto, José Manuel. El tartamudo y la rusa. Mexico, DF: Tusquets, 2002.
---. Enciclopedia de una vida en Rusia. Mexico, DF: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1998.
---. Livadia. Barcelona: Mondadori, 1999.
---. “No pises a los durmientes (Veracruz, 1949).” Hechos en México. Ed. Lolita Bosch. Barcelona: Mondadori, 2007. 319-26.
---. Nunca antes habías visto el rojo. La Habana: Editorial Letras Cubanas, 1996. ---. Rex. Barcelona: Anagrama, 2007.
---. “Viaje a Gea.” 1985. Invasores de Marte. Ed. Javier Calvo. Barcelona: Mondadori, 2000. 201-05.
Secondary Works:
1989 USSR Population Census. Commonwealth of Independent States, Statistical Committee. Minneapolis, MN: East View Publications, 1996.
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---. “Treinta días en Moscú.” Rev. of Treinta días en Moscú by José Manuel Prieto. Reforma 11 Mar. 2002. 25 Apr. 2008 <http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-
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Manuel Prieto. La Vanguardia Digital 8 Oct. 1999. 25 Apr. 2008. <http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y99/oct99/08o8.htm>.
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---, trans. La nube en pantalones. By Vladimir Mayakovsky. Madrid: Grijalbo Mondadori, 1999.
---, trans. La patria de la electricidad y otros relatos. By Andrei Platonovich Platonov. Barcelona: Galaxia Gutenberg, 1999.
---, trans. Lugares en el fuego: (antología poética). By Gennady Aigi. Mexico, DF: Aldus, 2002.
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