From Cuba with a Song: Analysis of Major Characters
"From Cuba with a Song: Analysis of Major Characters" explores a rich tapestry of characters interwoven through themes of love, power, and identity in a Cuban context. The central figure, Mortal Pérez, is portrayed in various roles, from an old general infatuated with Lotus Flower to a politician whose ambition leads to his downfall. His interactions with the metaphysical twins, Auxilio and Socorro, reveal deeper layers of meaning, as they navigate their own transformations and relationships with other characters. Lotus Flower, a transvestite actress, becomes a focal point of desire, while Dolores Rondón, a young mulatto woman, embodies the tension between societal aspirations and cultural roots, ultimately facing tragedy due to the conflict between her new life and Afro-Cuban religious beliefs. Additionally, the narrative is enriched by the presence of Death, referred to as The Great Bald Madame, highlighting the existential themes present in the story. This interplay among characters invites readers to reflect on the complexities of mortality, identity, and the quest for meaning within the vibrant cultural landscape of Cuba.
From Cuba with a Song: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Severo Sarduy
First published: De donde son los cantantes, 1967 (English translation, 1972)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Cuba
Plot: Experimental
Time: The 1950's and from the Middle Ages to 1959
Mortal Pérez (mohr-TAHL PEH-rehs), a common name from Dolores Rondón's epitaph (“come, mortal, and see”) turned into a character. He is a blond Spaniard who speaks Castilian Spanish and who always possesses some attribute of power. He starts as an old general, when, in “By the River of Rose Ashes,” he falls in love with and relentlessly pursues Lotus Flower. At first a voyeur, he ends as a would-be assassin. In “Dolores Rondón,” he is a politician rising from provincial obscurity to national prominence as a senator. His fall comes when it is revealed that the Hawaiian dancer he procured for the president is a mulatto woman from his province. In “The Entry of Christ in Havana,” he is a young elusive lover ardently desired by Auxilio and Socorro. Later, he is identified with the wooden statue of Christ found by them in the Cathedral of the Cuban Santiago and is taken triumphantly to Havana. He disintegrates on the way and, finally, dies.
Auxilio (owk-SEE-lee-oh) and Socorro (soh-KOH-rroh), metaphysical twins in perpetual transformation. (Both names mean “call for help” in Spanish, but they appear as “Help” and “Mercy” in some translations.) They start looking for God, only to find all the principal characters in a “self-service” grocery store. In “By the River of Rose Ashes,” they are chorus girls (at the burlesque Chinese opera in Havana), transvestites, and, occasionally, prostitutes. They also help the old general with his passion for Lotus Flower. In “Dolores Rondón,” they act as the magic twins, or tricksters, of Afro-Cuban religion. They reveal the senator's fraud. In “The Entry of Christ in Havana,” they are two Spanish women in love with Mortal, whom they pursue from the origins of European lyric in Arabic poetry through the discovery of the New World. Having arrived in the Cuba of the early colonial days, they learn music in the Cathedral of Santiago, where they find a wooden statue of Christ, with whom they identify their elusive lover. In a triumphant procession, they take the statue to Havana. They are received by gunfire from helicopters.
Lotus Flower, a transvestite who is an actress in the Chinese burlesque opera house in Havana and is pursued desperately by the general Mortal Pérez.
Dolores Rondón (rrohn-DOHN), a young mulatto woman from the provinces, mistress and wife of the senator Mortal Pérez. Her new high life enters into conflict with Afro-Cuban religion, and the offended deities cause the fall of the senator. She returns to the province and dies in poverty, summarizing her life in an epitaph she writes for her tomb as a lesson to all mortals.
The Great Bald Madame, Death, a character presented as the final essential ingredient of the cosmic jigsaw puzzle.
Myself, a personal pronoun turned into a character. It represents the authorial voice, which later splits into a dialogue between Narrator One and Narrator Two.
The Director, who stages the show at the burlesque opera house. He seems to be another incarnation of Myself.
The reader, who struggles with Myself and the Director for the proper meaning and the realism of the work.