The Transformative Dynamics of Self-Employed Dance Instruction in Havana, Cuba’s Tourism Industry

Stein, Michal; Vertovec, John

doi:10.1108/s0190-128120200000040011

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…While the swing of the rumberas’ hips evoke a phallocentric genealogy of social meanings nationalized, institutionalized, and then capitalized upon by the state, Black women articulate not just choreographic choices to luchar against the constraints of their class, race, and gender position. Alongside their male counterparts, teaching private lessons (informally, without a license) to foreigners became a strategy, however limited, for economic survival, circumventing the state-controlled market for goods and services (Berry 2016; Stein and Vertovec 2020). Men and women differentially navigated the ways in which these transactions with foreigners, exchanging “Cuban authenticity” for hard currency, reinforced racialized and gendered colonial imaginaries and expectations (Ana 2019; Stein and Vertovec 2020).…”

Section: “To Halt Masculine Domination”mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alongside their male counterparts, teaching private lessons (informally, without a license) to foreigners became a strategy, however limited, for economic survival, circumventing the state-controlled market for goods and services (Berry 2016; Stein and Vertovec 2020). Men and women differentially navigated the ways in which these transactions with foreigners, exchanging “Cuban authenticity” for hard currency, reinforced racialized and gendered colonial imaginaries and expectations (Ana 2019; Stein and Vertovec 2020). Significantly, Berta Jottar noted a surge in feminist choreographic choices by rumberas during the “rumba boom,” defined as “an explosion of alternative rumba scenarios evolving from the mid-1990s, culminating in the year 2012 with the opening of El Palacio de la Rumba 15 and the official proclamation of traditional rumba as Cuba's National Patrimony,” and reflective of a context in which rumberas were fashioning identities as “independent, competitive, and assertive performers” (Jottar 2013).…”

Section: “To Halt Masculine Domination”mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Black Feminist Rumba Pedagogies

Berry¹

2021

Dance Res. J.

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Rumba guaguancó, a sub-genre of Afro-Cuban popular dance, has been widely defined as a dance of courtship, characterized as a male pursuit of a woman's sex. The article analyzes alternative meanings of the sub-genre articulated in the pedagogical practices of black women rumba dancers. Insights were gleaned from the author's own dance training in Havana while conducting original ethnographic research between 2009 and 2018. What the author terms “a black feminist choreographic aptitude” taught by rumberas (women rumba dancers) speaks to the pointedly gendered valances of worsening racialized class inequality in contemporary Cuba. Building on Blanco Borelli's theory of “hip(g)nosis,” the article interrogates the racialized and gendered discourses historically reproduced through dominant definitions of rumba, limiting women of African descent to sexual objects. The study argues for increased critical attention to pedagogy as a hermeneutical tool, centering those subjects historically marginalized from the production of knowledge about their bodies.

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Section: “To Halt Masculine Domination”mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: “To Halt Masculine Domination”mentioning

confidence: 99%

Black Feminist Rumba Pedagogies

Berry¹

2021

Dance Res. J.

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“…The entrenchment of entrepreneurship in Cuba is driven by personal microtransformations that respond to overarching macrodynamics, such as the different practices and processes that government institutions utilize to govern society or the global circulations of people, wealth, and ideas that shape the opportunities people have in the local private sector (Stein and Vertovec 2020). The Cuban institutions that most directly oversee the private sector are the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the National Office of the Administration of Tributaries, and the Administrations of Councils of each municipal government.…”

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confidence: 99%

“No trabajaré pa' ellos”: Entrepreneurship as a form of state resistance in Havana, Cuba

Vertovec

2020

Economic Anthropology

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Strict state policies and regulations restrict private‐sector growth in Cuba. And yet, many people (scholars and others) view Cuban entrepreneurialism as a celebrated feature of recent Cuban economic transformations. Entrepreneurship usually surges under more liberalized circumstances, where resources are more readily available or individual economic actors are given opportunities to use their flexibility to innovate new or enhanced products and services that fill market gaps. In Cuba, however, the state maintains strong control over the economy, firmly regulating access to resources and restricting the possibilities for entrepreneurial growth and ingenuity. Furthermore, entrepreneurs are often pitted against the political‐economic morals of the state. And yet, Cubans continue to enter this precarious line of work. This article explores this contradiction, asking, why do entrepreneurs choose to engage in entrepreneurship in the first place, and how might their entrepreneurial activities help them respond to barriers left by the state? I draw from ethnographic research conducted in Havana (2018–19) to argue that entrepreneurship in Cuba is driven not just in spite of but also because of restrictive government policies and regulations and that entrepreneurial strategies can be innovative and flexible forms of state resistance.

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Perceptions and contradictions: a study of market orientation and innovation among Cuban entrepreneurs

Gómez García,

Hernández Ruíz

2024

JRME

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Purpose This study aims to examine whether market orientation or innovation is a more significant mediator between an entrepreneur’s culture and perceived success in Cuba, where innovation is highly regarded because of economic challenges and US embargoes, but doubts persist about market orientation because of its socialist economy. Design/methodology/approach Havana entrepreneurs were surveyed on culture, market orientation and innovation. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with the partial least squares approach in SmartPLS 4. Findings The results showed partial mediation for both market orientation and innovation. Culture significantly affects performance directly. Surprisingly, a less market-oriented culture enhances performance, with innovation acting as the stronger mediator, despite the inverse relationship between market orientation and innovation. Research limitations/implications The limitations include reliance on self-reported measures, lack of objective performance verification and a narrow focus on entrepreneurs rather than clients. Despite these constraints, the study provides valuable exploratory insights into Cuba’s closed economy, following the principle of being “approximately right than exactly wrong.” Practical implications The findings confirm the positive impact of Cubans’ innovative spirit on performance but reveal a contradiction: less market-oriented cultures perceive themselves as market-oriented and perform better. This misperception suggests the need for further investigation and training to promote market-oriented business culture. Collaboration with international business schools may be necessary, as this distortion could harm customer satisfaction. Originality/value The originality of the research lies in that, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on Cuban entrepreneurs’ market orientation. It has the value to illustrate how socialists’ ideology can contradict assumed theoretical established approaches about market functioning.

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The Transformative Dynamics of Self-Employed Dance Instruction in Havana, Cuba’s Tourism Industry

Cited by 3 publications

References 34 publications

Black Feminist Rumba Pedagogies

Black Feminist Rumba Pedagogies

“No trabajaré pa' ellos”: Entrepreneurship as a form of state resistance in Havana, Cuba

Perceptions and contradictions: a study of market orientation and innovation among Cuban entrepreneurs

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