Prolegomenon: Havana, Body and Soul: From Urban Theory to Social Practice, and Back Again

• Published in: Cuban studies Vol. 52; no. 1; pp. 3 - 14
• Main Author: Hernández-Durán, Ray
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh Press 2023
• Subjects: Built environment; Calvino, Italo (1923-1985); Cities; Colonialism; Social dynamics; Social life & customs; Urban areas; Urban studies; Urbanism; Spain
• ISSN: 0361-4441; 1548-2464; 1548-2464
• DOI: 10.1353/cub.2023.a899792

Latin American cities can be seen as peculiar expressions of European forms of urbanism, given such factors as the colonial context of their foundation and their subsequent instrumentalization in the formation and maintenance of empire, the usual (often violent) repurposing of preexisting indigenous settlement sites, the diverse range of populations that moved through those spaces and adapted the built environment to their expectations and needs, and the various historical and political developments of the Spanish colonial world. Any serious examination of the Latin American city must thus consider the foundation of the urban environment and its reinscription by the heteroglot inhabitants that brought such spaces to life. What we find today are cities constituted both materially and symbolically by sedimented layers of time, memories, and stories that not only embody a history or social biography but also reflect and shape human movement and human consciousness. Thinking of the city in such terms, I ask, How can we approach the study of the Spanish colonial city, generally, and of Havana, specifically, in such a way that reveals these complex, protean dynamics and presents a more nuanced understanding of the material and social life of the American built environment?