Advertisement for a burlesque troupe, 1898

American Burlesque is a genre of variety show. Derived from elements of Victorian burlesque, music hall and minstrel shows, burlesque shows in America became popular in the 1860s and evolved to feature ribald comedy (lewd jokes) and female striptease. By the early 20th century, burlesque in America was presented as a populist blend of satire, performance art, music hall and adult entertainment, featuring striptease and broad comedy acts.^[1]

The entertainment was presented often in cabarets and clubs, as well as music halls and theatres. Performers, usually female, often created elaborate tableaux with lush, colorful costumes, mood-appropriate music, and dramatic lighting; novelty acts, such as fire breathing or contortionists, might be added to enhance the impact of their performance.^[2] The genre traditionally encompassed a variety of acts: in addition to the striptease artistes, there was some combination of chanson singers, comedians, mime artists, and dancing girls, all delivered in a satiric style with a saucy edge. The striptease element of burlesque became subject to extensive local legislation, leading to a theatrical form that titillated without falling foul of censors.^[1]

Burlesque gradually lost popularity beginning in the 1940s. A number of producers sought to capitalize on nostalgia for the entertainment by attempting to recreate the spirit of burlesque in Hollywood films from the 1930s to the 1960s. There has been a resurgence of interest in this format since the 1990s, and it inspired a 2010 musical film, Burlesque, starring Christina Aguilera and Cher.

Literary and theatrical origins[link]

The term "burlesque" more generally means a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.^[3] Burlesque in literature and in theatre through the 19th century was intentionally ridiculous in that it imitated several styles and combined imitations of certain authors and artists with absurd descriptions.^[4] Burlesque depended on the reader's (or listener's) knowledge of the subject to make its intended effect, and a high degree of literacy was taken for granted.^[5]

Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as "travesty" or "extravaganza",^[6] was popular in London theatres between the 1830s and the 1890s. It took the form of musical theatre parody in which a well-known opera, play or ballet was adapted into a broad comic play, usually a musical play, often risqué in style, mocking the theatrical and musical conventions and styles of the original work, and quoting or pastiching text or music from the original work. The comedy often stemmed from the incongruity and absurdity of the classical subjects, with realistic historical dress and settings, being juxtaposed with the modern activities portrayed by the actors.^[7] The dialogue was generally written in rhyming couplets, liberally peppered with bad puns.^[8] A typical example from a burlesque of Macbeth: Macbeth and Banquo enter under an umbrella, and the witches greet them with "Hail! hail! hail!" Macbeth asks Banquo, "What mean these salutations, noble thane?" and is told, "These showers of 'Hail' anticipate your 'reign'".^[9] A staple of theatrical burlesque was the display of attractive women in travesty roles, dressed in tights to show off their legs, but the plays themselves were seldom more than modestly risqué.^[10]

Burlesque in America[link]

Lili St. Cyr was one of the leading artists of burlesque

There were three main influences on American burlesque in its early years: Victorian burlesque, "leg shows" and minstrel shows.^[11] British-style burlesques had been successfully presented in New York as early as the 1840s.^[12] They achieved wide popularity with productions by Lydia Thompson and her troupe, the British Blondes, who first appeared in the United States in 1868.^[13] "Leg" shows, such as the musical extravaganza The Black Crook (1866), became popular around the same time.^[14] The influence of the minstrel show soon followed; one of the first American burlesque troupes was the Rentz-Santley Novelty and Burlesque Company, created in 1870 by Michael B. Leavitt, who had earlier feminized the minstrel show with his group Madame Rentz's Female Minstrels.^[15] American burlesque rapidly adopted the minstrel show's tripartite structure: part one was composed of songs and dances rendered by a female company, interspersed with low comedy from male comedians. Part two featured various short specialties and olios in which the women did not appear. The show's finish was a grand finale. Sometimes the entertainment was followed by a boxing or wrestling match.^[11]

Originally, burlesque performances included comic sketches lampooning the upper classes and high art, such as opera, Shakespearean drama, and classical ballet.^[16] The genre developed alongside vaudeville and ran on competing circuits.^[17] Possibly due to historical social tensions between the upper classes and lower classes of society,^[18] much of the humor and entertainment of later American burlesque focused on lowbrow and ribald subjects.^[17]

By the 1880s, the four distinguishing characteristics of American burlesque had evolved:

Gypsy Rose Lee

• Minimal costuming, often focusing on the female form.
• Sexually suggestive dialogue, dance, plotlines and staging.
• Quick-witted humor laced with puns, but lacking complexity.
• Short routines or sketches with minimal plot cohesion across a show.^[1]

The artist and writer Jerome Myers gave a view of burlesque as observed in the working class neighborhoods of New York in the early years of the 1900s:

I have been impressed by the sincerity of the audience. On the runway extending out over the orchestra, the girls would gesture back and forth. It was not always of beauty; yet never that I can remember did these onlooking men, by word or gesture, annoy or belittle the performers. Pitifully inadequate the girls often were for their parts; yet they were working girls, catering to an audience of men who also worked for a living. [A]mong these imitation actresses, I have seen at times real jewels, featured girls who exercised all their youth and talent, working an enchantment within their narrow limits. There was one young girl who did the so-called strip-tease act. Playfully casting away her garments, she disclosed the full glory of her beautiful figure, her movements unsurpassed in a harmony of action. Had that inspired girl had the benefit of a French or German background of publicity, she would have revealed her art to a top-hat audience. Susceptible artists would have filled their sketch-books, photographers would have vied with one another, books of laudation would have appeared, and a world celebrity would have danced onto the newspaper pages. Yet this audience of ordinary people, in this ordinary burlesque theatre, applauded her in their simple way, and for years kept on applauding her as a featured artist, her name up in electric lights."^[19]

Charlie Chaplin (who starred in the 1915 film Burlesque on Carmen) noted in 1910: "Chicago ... had a fierce pioneer gaiety that enlivened the senses, yet underlying it throbbed masculine loneliness. Counteracting this somatic ailment was a national distraction known as the burlesque show, consisting of a coterie of rough-and-tumble comedians supported by twenty or more chorus girls. Some were pretty, others shopworn. Some of the comedians were funny, most of the shows were smutty harem comedies – coarse and cynical affairs".^[20]

By the early 20th century, there were two national circuits of burlesque shows, as well as resident companies in New York, such as Minsky's at the Winter Garden.^[11] The uninhibited atmosphere of burlesque establishments owed much to the free flow of alcoholic liquor, and the enforcement of Prohibition was a serious blow.^[21] The popular burlesque show of this period eventually evolved into the striptease which became the dominant ingredient of burlesque by the 1930s. At first soubrettes showed off their figures while singing and dancing; some were less active but compensated by appearing in elaborate stage costumes.^[1] Exotic "cooch" dances (similar to bellydancing) were brought in, ostensibly Syrian in origin.^[11] Strippers gradually supplanted the singing and dancing soubrettes; by 1932 there were at least 150 strip principals in the US.^[1] The transition from traditional burlesque to striptease is depicted in the film The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968).^[2]

By the late 1930s, a social crackdown on burlesque shows began their gradual downfall. The shows had slowly changed from ensemble ribald variety performances, to simple performances focusing mostly on the striptease.^[1] In New York, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia clamped down on burlesque, effectively putting it out of business by the early 1940s.^[22] Burlesque lingered on elsewhere in the U.S., increasingly neglected, and by the 1970s, with nudity commonplace in theatres, American burlesque reached "its final shabby demise".^[23]

Burlesque shows on film[link]

Mae West performing her burlesque dance in the film I'm No Angel

During its declining years and afterwards, films sought to capture the spirit of American burlesque. For example, in I'm No Angel (1933), Mae West performed a burlesque act. The 1943 film Lady of Burlesque, although a murder-mystery, spends much of its running time depicting the back-stage life of burlesque performers.^[24]

The first motion-picture adaptation of an actual burlesque show was Hollywood Revels (1946). Much of the action was filmed in medium or long shots, because the production was staged in a theater and the camera photographed the stage from a distance. In 1947, film producer W. Merle Connell reinvented the filmed burlesque show by restaging the action especially for movies, in a studio, where he could control the camerawork, lighting and sound, providing close-ups and other studio photographic and editorial techniques. His 1951 production French Follies recreates a classic American burlesque presentation, with stage curtains, singing emcee, dances by showgirls and strippers, comic sketches and a finale featuring the star performer. The highlight is the famous burlesque routine "Crazy House", popularized earlier by Abbott and Costello. Another familiar sketch, "Slowly I Turned" (later famous as a Three Stooges routine), was filmed for Connell's 1953 feature A Night in Hollywood.^{[citation needed]}

Marion Martin and Gloria Dickson in the film Lady of Burlesque

Other producers entered the field, using color photography and even location work. Naughty New Orleans (1954) is an example of burlesque entertainment on film, equally showcasing girls and gags, although it shifts the venue from a burlesque-house stage to a popular nightclub. Photographer Irving Klaw filmed a very profitable series of burlesque features, usually featuring star Pin-up girl Bettie Page and various lowbrow comedians (including future TV star Joe E. Ross). Page's most famous features are Striporama (1953),^[25] Varietease (1954) and Teaserama (1955). These movies, as their titles imply, were only teasing the viewer: the girls wore revealing costumes, but there was never any nudity. In the late 1950s, however, provocative films emerged, sometimes using a "nudist colony" format, and the relatively tame burlesque-show movie died out.^{[citation needed]}

As early as 1954 burlesque was already considered a bygone form of entertainment; burlesque veteran Phil Silvers laments the passing of burlesque in the musical Top Banana. The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) celebrates classic American burlesque.^[26]

Neo-Burlesque[link]

Miss Dirty Martini at the 2009 Howl Festival in New York^[22]

A new generation nostalgic for the spectacle and perceived glamour of the old times determined to bring burlesque back. This revival was pioneered independently in the early 1990s by Billie Madley's "Cinema" and later with Ami Goodheart in "Dutch Weismann's Follies" revues in New York, Michelle Carr's "The Velvet Hammer" troupe in Los Angeles, and The Shim-Shamettes in New Orleans. Inspired by old time stars like Sally Rand, Tempest Storm, Gypsy Rose Lee and Lili St. Cyr, more recent performers include Dita Von Teese, Julie Atlas Muz and Agitprop groups like Cabaret Red Light, who have included political satire and performance art in their acts. The revival of roller derby also features elements of burlesque.^[27]

Today Neo-Burlesque has taken many forms, but all have the common trait of honoring one or more of burlesque's previous incarnations, with acts including striptease, expensive costumes, bawdy humor, cabaret and comedy/variety acts.^[28][29] There are modern burlesque performers and shows all over the world, and annual conventions such as the Vancouver International Burlesque Festival and the Miss Exotic World Pageant are held. In 2008, The New York Times noted that burlesque had made a comeback in the city's art performance scene.^[22]

A 2010 musical film Burlesque, starring Christina Aguilera and Cher, "wags its derrière, in the direction of new burlesque, but it’s strictly old school ... with a story line that had already gathered dust by ... 1933."^[30]

Notable writers, stars and agents[link]

See also[link]

• Burlesque Hall of Fame
• List of Miss Exotic World Pageant participants and winners
• Minsky's

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Abrams, M. H. (1999) A Glossary of Literary Terms. Seventh edition. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers
• Adams, William Davenport (1904) A dictionary of the drama London: Chatto & Windus
• Allan, Kirsty L. A Guide to Classical Burlesque – Funny Ha Ha or Funny Peculiar?
• Allan, Kirsty L. and Charms, G. Diamonds From the Rough – The Darker Side of American Burlesque striptease
• Allen, Robert Clyde (1991). Horrible Prettiness: Burlesque and American Culture. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-1960-3
• Baldwin, Michelle. Burlesque and the New Bump-n-Grind
• Briggeman, Jane (2009) Burlesque: A Living History. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN 978-1-59393-469-9
• DiNardo, Kelly. "Gilded Lili: Lili St. Cyr and the Striptease Mystique"; Archive of articles, video, pictures and interviews about neo-burlesque.
• Kenrick, John. A History of The Musical Burlesque
• Sanders, Andrew (1994). The Short Oxford History of English Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-811201-7
• Stanton, Sarah and Banham, Martin (1996). Cambridge Paperback Guide to Theatre, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-44654-9
• Zeidman, Irving: The American Burlesque Show. Hawthorn Books, Inc 1967, OCLC 192808, OCLC 493184629.

External links[link]

Look up Burlesque in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Burlesque

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Burlesque.

• Ruckus! American Entertainments at the Turn of the Twentieth Century From the collection of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University
• Classic Burlesque: We Aim to Tease – slideshow by Life magazine
• Behind the Burly Q. 2010 documentary film by Leslie Zemeckis
• Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911: "Burlesque"
• History of Burlesque at Musicals101.com, The Cyber Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre, TV and Film
• "A Guide to Classical Burlesque – Funny Ha Ha or Funny Peculiar?" Allan, K., The Curious Adventures of Kittie
• The Golden Days of Burlesque Historical Society

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2011)

Amalia Aguilar (born July 3, 1924) is a Cuban and Mexican film actress and dancer of the Golden age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. She was considered one of the icons of the Rumberas film.

Early life[link]

She was born Amalia Rodriguez Carriera in Matanzas, Cuba. She started her career together with her sister Cecilia as "The Aguilar Sisters". The team travelled to many Latin American countries with a show of Cuban dances. The singer and producer Julio Richards discovered them in Panama and invited them to work in Mexico.

Career[link]

In Mexico, Amalia stood out as a dancer in the Teatro Lirico in Mexico City and attracted the attention of several filmmakers. She debuted in the film Pervertida (1945). In 1947, she work in Hollywood in the Joe DiMaggio's night club along stars like Bob Hope and Carmen Miranda, and filmed the musical movie A night in the Follies, with Evelyn West. Returned to Mexico in 1949. Her career in Mexico lasted over 10 years and she made 23 films with Mexican stars of the Golden Age including Tin Tan, Lilia Prado, Pedro Infante and Adalberto Martínez ("Resortes"). She was considered one of the Queens of the Rumberas film along with Maria Antonieta Pons, Meche Barba, Ninón Sevilla and Rosa Carmina. Amalia retired from the stardom in the 1970s. She returned in the 2000s as a special guest in some Mexican movies. In 2006, she was honored with the Mexican Silver Ariel for her career.

Filmography (selected)[link]

• Pervertida (1945)
• A Night in the Follies (1947)
• Dicen que soy mujeriego (1949)
• Calabacitas Tiernas (1949)
• Novia a la medida (1949)
• El Colmillo de Buda (1949)
• Al son del Mambo (1950)
• Ritmos del Caríbe (1950)
• Los Huespedes de la Marquesa (1950)
• Amor Perdido (1951)
• Delirio Tropical (1952)
• Las Tres Alegres Comadres (1953)
• Las Interesadas (1953)
• Mis Tres Viudas Alegres (1953)
• Las Cariñosas (1954)
• Las Viudas del Cha Cha Cha (1955)
• Los platillos Voladores (1956)
• Dame tu Cuerpo (2003)

External links[link]

• Amalia Aguilar at the Internet Movie Database
• http://www.amaliaaguilar.com

Bibliography[link]

• http://www.amaliaaguilar.com
• Muñoz Castillo, Fernando (1993). Las Reinas del Tropico: María Antonieta Pons, Meche Barba, Amalia Aguilar, Ninón Sevilla & Rosa Carmina. Grupo Azabache. ISBN 968-5077-11-8. 
• Agrasánchez Jr., Rogelio (2001). Bellezas del cine mexicano/Beauties of Mexican Cinema.. Archivo Fílmico Agrasánchez. ISBN 968-5077-11-8. 

v t e Cinema of Mexico Actors Directors Films A-Z Cinematographers Editors Producers Screenwriters Films by year 1896–1919 1920s 1930s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Cuban American · Cubano estadounidense

Gloria Estefan · Andy García · Marco Rubio · Enrique Murciano · Cameron Diaz · Eva Mendes · Pitbull · Christina Milian
Total population
1,785,547 0.6% of the total US population (2010)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Predominantly in Miami, Tampa Bay Area, Northern New Jersey, New York. Growing populations in California, Texas, North Carolina and Georgia.
Languages
Spanish · American English
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholic
Related ethnic groups
Spaniards · Italians · Portuguese · Hispanics Afro-Cuban · Jewish Cuban · Chinese Cuban

A Cuban American (Spanish: Cubano estadounidense) is a United States citizen who traces his or her "national origin" to Cuba. Cuban Americans are also considered native born Americans with Cuban ancestry or Cuban-born persons who were raised and educated in US. Cuban Americans form the third-largest Hispanic group in the United States and also the largest group of Hispanics of European ancestry (predominantly Spanish) as a percentage but not in numbers.^[2][3][4]

Many communities throughout the United States have significant Cuban American populations.^[5] However Miami, Florida, with a Cuban American population of 856,007 in its environs,^[6] stands out as the most prominent Cuban American community, in part because of its proximity to Cuba. It is followed by the Tampa Bay Area and North Hudson, New Jersey, particularly Union City and West New York.^[5] With a population of 141,250, the New York metropolitan area's Cuban community is the largest Cuban-American community outside of Florida.^[6]

Immigration[link]

Early migrations[link]

Prior to the Louisiana Purchase and the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819, all of Florida and Louisiana were provinces of the Captaincy General of Cuba (Captain General being the Spanish title equivalent to the British colonial Governor). Consequently, Cuban immigration to the U.S. has a long history, beginning in the Spanish colonial period in 1565 when St. Augustine, Florida was established by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, and hundreds of Spanish-Cuban soldiers and their families moved from Cuba to St. Augustine to establish a new life. Thousands of Cuban settlers also immigrated to Louisiana between 1778 and 1802 and Texas during the period of Spanish rule.^{[citation needed]}

Key West and Tampa, Florida[link]

In the mid-to late 19th century, several cigar manufacturers moved their operations to Key West to get away from growing disruptions as Cubans sought independence from Spanish colonial rule. Many Cuban cigar workers followed. The Cuban government had even established a grammar school in Key West to help preserve Cuban culture. There, children learned folk songs and patriotic hymns such as "La Bayamesa", the Cuban national anthem.

In 1885, Vicente Martinez Ybor moved his cigar operations from Key West to the town of Tampa, Florida to escape labor strife. Ybor City was designed as a modified company town, and it quickly attracted thousands of Cuban workers from Key West and Cuba. West Tampa, another new cigar manufacturing community, was founded nearby in 1892 and also grew quickly. Between these communities, the Tampa Bay area's Cuban population grew from almost nothing to the largest in Florida in just over a decade, and the city as a whole grew from a village of approximately 1000 residents in 1885 to over 16,000 by 1900.

Both Ybor City and West Tampa were instrumental in Cuba's eventual independence.^[7] Inspired by revolutionaries such as Jose Martí, who visited Florida several times, Tampa-area Cubans and their sympathetic neighbors donated money, equipment, and sometimes their lives to the cause of Cuba Libre.^[8] After the Spanish-American War, some Cubans returned to their native land, but many chose to stay in the U.S. due to the physical and economic devastation caused by years of fighting on the island.^[9]

Other early waves[link]

Several other small waves of Cuban emigration to the U.S. occurred in the early 20th century (1900–1959). Most settled in Florida and the northeast U.S. The majority of an estimated 100,000 Cubans arriving in that time period usually came for economic reasons (the Great Depression of 1929, volatile sugar prices and migrant farm labor contracts),^{[citation needed]} but included anti-Batista refugees fleeing the military dictatorship, which had pro-U.S. diplomatic ties.

Post-Castro Revolution[link]

Political upheaval in Cuba created new waves of Cuban immigrants to the U.S. In 1959, after the Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro, a large Cuban exodus began as the new government allied itself with the Soviet Union and began to introduce communism. From 1960 to 1979, hundreds of thousands of Cubans left Cuba and began a new life in the United States. Most Cuban Americans that arrived in the United States initially came from Cuba's educated upper and middle classes. Between December 1960 and October 1962 more than 14,000 Cuban children arrived alone in the U.S. Their parents were afraid that their children were going to be sent to some Soviet bloc countries to be educated^{[citation needed]} and they decided to send them to the States as soon as possible. This program was called Operation Peter Pan (Operacion Pedro Pan). When the children arrived in Miami they were met by representatives of Catholic Charities and they were sent to live with relatives if they had any or were sent to foster homes, orphanages or boarding schools until their parents could leave Cuba. In order to provide aid to recently arrived Cuban immigrants, the United States Congress passed the Cuban Adjustment Act in 1966. The Cuban Refugee Program provided more than $1.3 billion of direct financial assistance. They also were eligible for public assistance, Medicare, free English courses, scholarships, and low-interest college loans. Some banks even pioneered loans for exiles who did not have collateral or credit but received help in getting a business loan. These loans enabled many Cuban Americans to secure funds and start up their own businesses. With their Cuban-owned businesses and low cost of living, Miami, Florida and Union City, New Jersey (dubbed Havana on the Hudson,)^[10] were the preferred destinations for many immigrants and soon became the main centers for Cuban American culture. Union City had the opportunities offered by the embroidery industry. According to author Lisandro Perez, Miami was not particularly attractive to Cubans prior to the 1960s.^[11] It was not until the mass exodus of the Cuban exiles in 1959 that Miami started to become a preferred destination. Westchester, Florida within Miami-Dade County, was the area most densely populated by Cubans and Cuban Americans in the United States, followed by Hialeah, Florida in second.^[12] In 2010, Hialeah, Florida was the area most densely populated by Cubans and Cuban Americans in the U.S., followed by Westchester, Florida in second.

Communities like Miami, Tampa, and Union City, which Cuban-Americans have made their home, have experienced a profound cultural impact as a result, as seen in such aspects of their local culture as cuisine, fashion, music, entertainment and cigar-making.^[13][14]

1980s[link]

Another large wave (an estimated 125,000 people) of Cuban immigration occurred in the early 1980s with the Mariel boatlifts. Most of the "Marielitos" were people wanting to escape from communism, and have succeeded in establishing their roots in the US. Fidel Castro sent some 20 thousand criminals directly from Cuban prisons, as well as mentally ill persons from Cuban mental institutions, with the alleged double purpose of cleaning up Cuban society and poisoning the USA. Those people were labeled "unadmissible" by the US government, and with time, through many negotiations, have been returned to Cuba.

Mid-1990s to 2000s[link]

Since the mid-1990s, after the implementation of the "Wet Foot, Dry Foot" policy immigration patterns changed. Many Cuban immigrants departed from the southern and western coasts of Cuba and arrived at the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico; many landed on Isla Mujeres. From there Cuban immigrants traveled to the Texas-Mexico border and found asylum. Many of the Cubans who did not have family in Miami settled in Houston; this has caused Houston's Cuban American community to increase in size.The term "dusty foot" refers to Cubans emigrating to the U.S. through Mexico. In 2005 the Department of Homeland Security had abandoned the approach of detaining every dry foot Cuban who crosses through Texas and began a policy allowing most Cubans to obtain immediate parole.^[15]

Jorge Ferragut, a Cuban immigrant who founded Casa Cuba, an agency that assists Cuban immigrants arriving in Texas, said in a 2008 article that many Cuban immigrants of the first decade of the 21st century left due to economic instead of political issues.^[16] By October 2008 Mexico and Cuba created an agreement to prevent immigration of Cubans through Mexico.^[17][18]

Immigration policy[link]

Before the 1980s, all refugees from Cuba were welcomed into the United States as political refugees. This changed in the 1990s so that only Cubans who reach U.S. soil are granted refuge under the "wet feet, dry feet policy". While representing a tightening of U.S. immigration policy, the wet foot, dry foot policy still affords Cubans a privileged position relative to other immigrants to the U.S. This privileged position is the source of a certain friction between Cuban Americans and other Latin citizens and residents in the United States, adding to the tension caused by the divergent foreign policy interests pursued by conservative Cuban Americans. Cuban immigration also continues with an allotted number of Cubans (20,000 per year) provided legal U.S. visas.

According to a U.S. Census 1970 report, Cuban Americans as well as Latinos lived in all 50 states. But as later Census reports demonstrated, the majority of Cuban immigrants settled in south Florida. A new trend in the late 1990s showed that fewer immigrants arrived from Cuba than previously. While U.S. born Cuban Americans moved out of their enclaves, other nationalities settled there.

In late 1999, U.S. news media focused on the case of Elián González, the 6-year-old Cuban boy caught in a custody battle between his relatives in Miami and his father in Cuba, after the boy's mother died trying to bring him to the United States. On April 22, 2000, INS (now USCIS) agents took Elián González to the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C. From there, his father took him back to Cuba.

Assimilation[link]

Revelers during the 2010 Cuban Day Parade in Union City, New Jersey. North Hudson is sometimes colloquially known as Havana-on-the-Hudson due to it having the largest Cuban American population outside of Florida.

Many Cuban Americans have assimilated themselves into the American culture, which includes Cuban influences.

Since the 1980s, Cuban Americans have moved out of "Little Havana" and "Hialeah" to the suburbs of Miami, such as Kendall, as well in the more affluent Coral Gables and Miami Lakes.

Many new South and Central Americans, along with new Cuban refugees, have replaced the Cuban Americans who have relocated elsewhere in Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa Bay and West Palm Beach) and dispersed throughout the nation.

Cuban Americans live in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, which received thousands of anti-Castro refugees as well in the 1960s, and Cuban American population growth is found in California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Texas, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

More recently, there has been substantial growth of new Cuban-American communities in places like Louisville, Kentucky; Raleigh, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; La Puente, California; Lancaster, California and Palmdale, California; Palm Desert, California; Union City, California and Fremont, California in the San Francisco Bay Area; and a number of counties in Nevada such as Clark.^{[citation needed]}

Recently small increases of Cuban Americans were in Sterling, Illinois; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Henderson, Nevada; and the Seattle Metropolitan area of Washington state.^{[citation needed]}

Cuban Americans have been very successful in establishing businesses and developing political clout by transforming Miami from a beach retirement community into a modern city with a younger demographic base with a distinct Caribbean flavor.

U.S. communities with high percentages of people of Cuban ancestry[link]

The top 25 US communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Cuban ancestry are (the top 24 of which are in Miami):^[12]

1. Westchester, Florida 65.69%
2. Hialeah, Florida 62.12%
3. Coral Terrace, Florida 61.87%
4. West Miami, Florida 61.61%
5. University Park, Florida 59.80%
6. Olympia Heights, Florida 57.65%
7. Tamiami, Florida 56.63%
8. Hialeah Gardens, Florida 54.31%
9. Medley, Florida 51.91%
10. Sweetwater, Florida 49.92%
11. Palm Springs North, Florida 43.59%
12. Miami Lakes, Florida 42.28%
13. Kendale Lakes, Florida 38.58%
14. Fountainbleau, Florida 37.29%
15. Miami, Florida 34.14%
16. Miami Springs, Florida 31.83%
17. Richmond West, Florida 29.30%
18. Coral Gables, Florida 28.72%
19. Virginia Gardens, Florida 26.11%
20. South Miami Heights, Florida 25.70%
21. Kendall, Florida 21.31%
22. Miami Beach, Florida 20.51%
23. Surfside, Florida 20.15%
24. Country Club, Florida 19.97%
25. West New York, New Jersey 19.64%

U.S. communities with the most residents born in Cuba[link]

For total 101 communities, see the reference given. Top 20 U.S. communities with the most residents born in Cuba are (all of which are located within Miami):^[19]

1. Westchester, Florida 55.8%
2. Hialeah, Florida 53.5%
3. Coral Terrace, Florida 51.9%
4. West Miami, Florida 50.5%
5. South Westside, FL 48.3%
6. University Park, Florida 48.1%
7. Hialeah Gardens, Florida 47.5%
8. Medley, Florida 46.0%
9. Tamiami, Florida 45.7%
10. Olympia Heights, Florida 45.2%
11. Sweetwater, Florida 45.2%
12. Westwood Lakes, Florida 44.9%
13. Sunset, Florida 32.7%
14. Fountainbleau, Florida 32.3%
15. North Westside, FL 30.4%
16. Miami, Florida 30.3%
17. Miami Lakes, Florida 30.1%
18. Palm Springs North, Florida 29.8%
19. Kendale Lakes, Florida 28.9%
20. Kendale Lakes-Lindgren Acres, FL 24.3%

Cuban American culture[link]

Political beliefs[link]

This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page. (April 2008)

US citizens of Cuban descent tend to be significantly more politically conservative than other Hispanic groups in the United States and form a major voting block for the Republican Party (GOP) in the state of Florida. Many Cuban Americans fled the island to escape the political and economic repression that they experienced under the Fidel Castro's communist government. As such, they tend to identify with the tough anti-communist stance of the Republican Party. In terms of its influence relative to the population of U.S. citizens of Cuban-American heritage, the Cuban-American lobby is the most powerful in U.S. foreign policy.

In the most recent presidential election, which Democrat Barack Obama received 47% of the Cuban American vote in Florida.^[20] According to Bendixen's exit polls, 84% of Miami-Dade Cuban American voters 65 or older backed McCain, while 55% of those 29 or younger backed Obama.^[21] This indicates that the younger generation may be moving more towards the political center.

The failed Bay of Pigs invasion, and its association with John F. Kennedy, left many Cubans distrustful of the Democratic Party.^{[citation needed]} Many Cuban Americans believe that Kennedy deliberately denied Cuban exiles air support, leading to a rout by Castro forces. The trauma of this event has led to speculation about possible Cuban-American involvement in the assassination of President Kennedy. Ronald Reagan, on the other hand, is particularly popular in the Cuban exile community (there is a street in Miami named for Reagan).^{[citation needed]}.

Political representation[link]

There are now four Cuban-American members of the United States House of Representatives: David Rivera, Mario Diaz-Balart, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Albio Sires and two senators (Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Marco Rubio of Florida) in the United States Senate. The former Secretary of Commerce, Carlos M. Gutierrez, is also a Cuban-American and Mel Martinez represented Florida in the US Senate from 2004 to 2009. Lincoln Diaz-Balart represented Florida in the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2011.

Cuban American Marco Rubio was the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 until 2009, and became a US Senator in 2010.

Eduardo Aguirre served as Vice Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States in the George W. Bush administration and later named Director of Immigration and Naturalization Services under the Department of Homeland Security. In 2006, Eduardo Aguirre was named US ambassador to Spain. Cuban-Americans have also served other high profile government jobs including White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu.

Cuban-Americans also serve in high ranking judicial positions as well. Danny Boggs is currently a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Raoul G. Cantero, III, served as a Florida Supreme Court justice until stepping down in 2008.

Food[link]

Cuban food is varied, though rice is a staple and commonly served at lunch and dinner. Other common dishes are arroz con pollo (chicken and rice), pan con bistec (steak sandwich), platanos maduros (sweet plantains), lechon asado (pork), yuca (cassava root), flan, batido de mamey (mamey milkshake), papayas, and guava paste.

A common lunch staple is the Cuban sandwich (sometimes called a mixto sandwich), which is built on Cuban bread and was created and standardized among cigar workers who traveled between Cuba and Florida (especially Ybor City) around the turn of the 20th century^[22][23][24]

Cuban versions of pizza contains bread, which is usually soft, and cheese, toppings, and sauce, which is made with spices such as Adobo and Goya onion. Picadillo, ground beef that has been sauteed with tomato, green peppers, green olives, and garlic is another popular Cuban dish. It can be served with black beans and rice, and a side of deep-fried, ripened plantains.

Beverages[link]

Materva

Cubans often drink cafe cubano: a small cup of coffee called a cafecito (or a colada), which is traditional espresso coffee, sweetened with sugar, with a little foam on top called espumita. It is also popular to add milk, which is called a cortadito for a small cup or a cafe con leche for a larger cup.

A common soft drink is Materva, a Cuban soda made of yerba mate. Jupiña, Ironbeer and Cawy lemon-lime are soft drinks which originated in Cuba. Since the Castro era, they are also produced in Miami. Other famous Cuban drinks include guarapo de caña.

Demographics[link]

The ancestry of Cuban Americans comes primarily from Spain.^[27]

During the 18th, 19th and early part of the 20th century, large waves of Castilians, Basques, Canarians, Catalans, Andalusians, and Galicians emigrated to Cuba. Much of Haiti's white population (French) migrated to Cuba after the Haitian War of Independence in the early 18th century. Also, minor but significant ethnic influx is derived from diverse peoples from Middle East places such as Lebanon and Palestine. There was also a significant influx of Jews, especially between the World Wars, from many countries, including Sephardi Jews from Turkey and Ashkenazi Jews from Poland, Germany and Russia. Other Europeans that have contributed slightly include Italians, Germans, Swedes, and Hungarians. Many Chinese also settled Cuba as contract laborers and they formerly boast the largest Chinatown in Western Hemisphere as most Chinese Cubans left for Florida.

US Census and ACS[link]

In the most recent census in 2000 there were 1,241,685 Cuban Americans, both native and foreign born and represented 3.5% of all Hispanics in the US. About 85% of Cuban Americans identify themselves as being White, mostly Spanish, which is the highest proportion of all other major Hispanic groups. In Florida, Cuban Americans have cultural ties with the state's large Spanish American or European Spanish community. In the 2007 ACS, there were 1,611,478 Americans with national origins in Cuba. 983,147 were born abroad in Cuba, 628,331 were U.S born and of the 1.6 million, 415,212 were not U.S citizens.^[28]

Economics[link]

The median household income for Cuban Americans is $36,671, a figure higher than all other Hispanic groups, but lower than for non-Hispanic whites.

In contrast, US-born Cuban Americans have a higher median income than even non-Hispanic whites, $50,000 as compared to $48,000 for non-Hispanic whites.^[29]

Education[link]

25% of Cuban Americans have a college education, about twice the average of all other Hispanic groups with Dominican Americans trailing by a close 22%, and lower than that of non-Hispanic whites, of which 30% are college graduates.^[29]

However, 39% of US-born Cuban Americans have a college degree or higher, as compared to only 30% of non-Hispanic whites.^[29]

Religion[link]

Being of primarily Spanish extraction, most Cuban Americans are Roman Catholic, but some Cubans practice African traditional religions (such as Santería or Ifá), which evolved from mixing the Catholic religion with the traditional African religion. However, there are many Protestant (primarily Pentecostal) with small numbers of syncretist, nonreligious or tiny communities of Muslim and Jewish Cuban Americans.

	United States portal
	Cuba portal

See also[link]

• Cubans
• List of Cuban Americans
• Cuban British
• White Cuban
• Spanish American
• Afro-Cuban
• Hispanos
• White Hispanic
• White Latin American
• Black Hispanic
• Afro Latin American
• Hyphenated American
• Cuba-United States relations
• History of Ybor City
• Cuban exile
• U.S. embargo against Cuba
• Diaspora politics in the United States

References and further reading[link]

• Miguel A. De La Torre, "La Lucha for Cuba: Religion and Politics on the Streets of Miami", University of California Press, 2003.

External links[link]

• Immigration Law and the Racialization of Latina/Latino
• Cuban Americans can go Home More Easily Under Obama Rules by William E. Gibson, Los Angeles Times, March 15, 2009
• Long Islanders of Cuban Descent see Glimmer of Hope by Zachary Dowdy, Newsday, April 13, 2009
• Cuban American Travel to Cuba on the Rise by Marc Frank, Reuters, May 6, 2009
• Expats Flock to Cuba as U.S. Reforms Spark A Party by Andres Schipani, The Observer, May 31, 2009
• The Cuban Heritage Collection at The University of Miami
• Cubans in Miami, an historical perspective

Further reading[link]

• Diaz, Carmen (2008) (in Spanish). Siete jornadas en Miami (1ra ed.). Miami, FL: Alexandria Library. ISBN 978-1-934804-26-1.  Interviews with Cuban-American women in Miami about Cuban-American identity.

v t e Cuba–United States relations Bay of Pigs Invasion · Brothers to the Rescue · Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba · Cuban American · Cuban-American lobby · Cuban dissident movement · Cuban Five · Cuban Missile Crisis · Elián González affair · Guantanamo Bay Naval Base · Helms–Burton Act · List of Cuba – United States aircraft hijackings · Luis Posada Carriles · Mariel boatlift · Operation Northwoods · Operation Peter Pan · Platt Amendment · Spanish–American War · United States Ambassador to Cuba · United States embargo against Cuba · United States Interests Section in Havana

African American

Frederick Douglass · Barack Obama · Rosa Parks Condoleezza Rice · M. L. King, Jr. · Beyoncé Knowles Malcolm X · Oprah Winfrey · Booker T. Washington Michael Jordan · Harriet Tubman · Muhammad Ali
Total population
African American 42,020,743[1] (13.6% of the US population)
Regions with significant populations
Predominantly in the Southern United States and in urban areas within the country
Languages
American English · African American Vernacular English · Gullah language
Religion
Predominantly Protestant; also Roman Catholic, Muslim and agnostic
Related ethnic groups
Other Afro-American peoples of the Americas (especially Anglophones) Americo-Liberians · Sierra Leone Creole people Black Nova Scotians, Foreign-born Afro-Americans, Afro-Latin American view talk edit

African Americans^[2] (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes) are citizens or residents of the United States that have ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa.^[3]

African Americans make up the single largest racial minority in the United States.^[4] Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States.^[5][6] However, some immigrants from African, Caribbean, Central American or South American nations, or their descendants, may be identified or self-identify with the term.^[3]

African-American history starts in the 16th century with African slaves who quickly rose up against the Spanish explorer Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón and progresses to the present day, with Barack Obama as the 44th and current President of the United States. Between those landmarks there have been events and issues, both resolved and ongoing, including slavery, racism, Reconstruction, development of the African-American community, participation in the great military conflicts of the United States, racial segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement.