Events

Weds, 7 Nov 07 -- 12-2 pm

Latin American Studies Luncheon Series

In this paper I consider the way in which modern hotel architecture and
spatial practices during war combine to create a peculiar form of
ideological cocktail—a détente between revolution and global capitalism
that takes the form of the Habana Libre hotel. An intriguing amalgam of
social forces, this former link in the Hilton chain is a unique example
of a hotel that played a central role during a twentieth-century
conflict. On one level, the edifice reflects the evolving tensions
inherent to a post-WWII international marketplace in which tourism, the
power of capital, and an American vision of the hospitality industry
coalesce in spatial and architectural practice. At the same time,
however, the Habana Hilton/Libre stands as the ultimate monument to
socialist ideology in a capitalist hemisphere and, importantly, to the
ongoing Cuban Revolution. In this sense, I argue that the Habana Libre
is not only a monument to Castro’s initial military triumph but also to
war itself and is thus, in a way, given its highly charged history and
present context, a hotel in perpetual conflict with its own glass and
steel. I support my reading of the Habana Libre by referring to both
the iconic photos of Burt Glinn and to the recent “Lo que se ve es lo
que se ve” [What You See Is What You See] series of paintings by Cuban
artist and Dean of the Instituto Superior de Arte at the Universidad de
las Artes de Cuba, Ramón Serrano.

*Bio:*

Bob Davidson, Assistant Professor of Spanish and Catalan Studies at U of T, holds a PhD from Cornell and an MA from Queen’s University at Kingston. He teaches Modern Peninsular Literature and Culture and his current research interests include theories of space, architecture and cultural theories of food and hospitality. Professor Davidson is
co-editor of the special issue of /Diacritics “New Coordinates: Spatial Mappings, National Trajectories”/ and has published on different aspects of the Castilian and Catalan avant-gardes, cultural theory and film. He is the author of /Jazz Age Barcelona/ and is currently completing his second book: /From Détente to Detention: Hotels & Cultural Theory/. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the /Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispánicos/ and is also the journal’s Book Review Editor.

This event is presented as part of the Latin American Studies Luncheon Series.
A light lunch will be provided to those who register online at http://webapp.mcis.utoronto.ca/EventDetails.aspx?eventid=4471 by 9am on Monday, November 5, 2007.