Borders and Belonging: Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia
Help me give my students access to a range of culturally relevant, contemporary, engaging novels that explore the complexity of identity and characters' lived experience navigating borders and belonging--and this novel a student's recommendation for our class!
Our students are buzzing with energy, curiosity, and enthusiasm for pursuing their passion as creative writers, dancers, actors, visual artists, and musicians. A diverse group of artistically talented young people from every ward in the city, our students' commute to school might be as short as fifteen minutes or as long as two and a half hours.
At our school, we create a space where every individual student embraces their identity as a Scholar-Artist, and together we co-create an inclusive learning community.
It is vital that students have books in their hands so that they can see how through sharing their individual stories and reading other people's stories, we learn from each other's experiences and discover our shared humanity.
My Project
As a Senior English teacher, I want to inspire students' curiosity and a life-long love of reading. Students need to encounter writers and characters who look like them and those whose lived experiences are new to them.
One of the selections I am adding to my class library is this fantastic novel by Cristina Garcia that one of my students recommended for us!
In Cultural Consent, Analyn Grasz writes of Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia:
" Using the geography of Cuba as an island, and New York City is surrounded by water, García repeats a central theme: that the ocean blurs lines and barriers, and connects these women – to their past, to each other, and to themselves. As much as they wrestle with, push away, or hold onto various aspects of their cultural identity, the lines that outline who they are will never be solid. They will never be drawn in solid borders. This description of imperfect borders is what makes Dreaming in Cuban an important piece of Latinx Literature (and one of my all-time favorite reads). Because Latinx culture is so multifaceted and cannot be pinned down by any singular race, ethnicity, nationality, or even language – the lines that contain this cultural group are blurred like García describes. Reading García’s novel brings Latinx individuals – like me – a sense of solidarity; there is no singular experience in this identity."
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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