Firmat explores the process of assimilation or transculturation in the case of Cuba, and proposes a new understanding of the issue of Cuban national identity.

Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Mr. Cuba; 2. The politics of enchantment; 3. Cuban counterpoint; 4. Nicolás Guillén between the son and the sonnet; 5. Mulatto madrigals; 6. The discourse of the tropics; 7. The creation of Juan Criollo; 8. Shifting grounds; 9. Land or language; Notes; Bibliography; Index.