It's 1963 Cuba and a woman named Maria Sirena is taking shelter from a hurricane inside the former governor's mansion, along with a small group of other Cuban women. Maria distracts the women at their request by recounting stories of her childhood — personal stories that trace the history of Cuba's long fight for independence.
That's the premise of Chantel Acevedo's latest novel, The Distant Marvels. Acevedo, herself the daughter of Cuban immigrants, tells NPR's Rachel Martin that she intentionally made Maria part of a unique generation in Cuba.
"When the novel opens, she is an elderly woman," Acevedo says. "She's in her 80s, but she's the daughter of Cuban revolutionaries of the war of independence from Spain, and so her life has always been one of revolution. So at the beginning of her life it's the revolution to gain independence, and at the end of her life it's the Cuban Revolution."
Interview Highlights
On what drew her to a story about Cuban history
I feel like if you look at the history of Cuba, it's always been a tumultuous one, even going back to Columbus, right? It always seems to have been a place that is sort of struggling to gain its footing in the world. So it's just — its history to me is so vibrant and long and twisty and turny.
On the real historical figures she weaves into the novel
The Cuban war of independence [from Spain] was actually several decades long. ... What was interesting to me about this long struggle are some of the key characters, some of the key players in it. One of them was the great poet José Martí, sort of the national poet. So having a poet being the person who calls others to arms fascinated me; you know, that sort of at the heart of it is an art form. Another big leader was Antonio Maceo, who was of African descent. And so here you have another, sort of, leader of the revolutionaries who is a man of color, which was also fascinating, right, because it's the 19th century.
On what life was like during the war of independence
On the ground a lot of the success of that war depended on civilians and on the people, and Maria Sirena and her parents are civilians at the end of the day. And a lot of that work was done by women, so the role that women played in revolution was interesting to me. And they set up these talleres, or workshops, where they healed the sick and they fixed weapons and they, you know, raised livestock to feed the soldiers.
On what she learned about her own family's wartime experience after writing the book
I was talking about it with my mom and my grandmother, who herself is in her 80s, and I was telling them what the novel was about and she starts talking about her grandfather who was shot and killed, you know, during the war. He was taken out of his house and shot in the woods. And I was like, 'Oh my goodness, you've never told us this story.' And then she said, 'Those damn Cubans killed him.' And my mother and I looked at each other and it was like the penny dropped, because, you know, you always imagine that your family was on the good side of history, or whatever. And she went on to talk about, 'Yeah, we could have still been Spaniards.' And we just had to laugh, you know.
Like, in her world and the stories that she heard growing up, it was a shame to have lost independence. These were the stories she heard when she was a little girl. And so my mother and I looked at each other like, 'What? Everything we know is wrong,' you know? And my grandmother herself, you know, is a wonderful storyteller. How much of what she tells is true and how much of it is made up has always been a question, and so who knows even if this story is a true story. ... So I suppose Maria Sirena as a character pulls from her too, just as a great storyteller and someone who could literally spend three days during a hurricane telling you stories of her life and not tire.
On how the Cuban story may be coming full circle with the thawing of U.S.-Cuba relations
It's interesting thinking about the moment we find ourselves in in Cuba and what I hope is sort of an opening up of freedoms for people on the island, you know, and sort of an end of political prisoners and sort of those things and hopefully helping fulfill the promise of the 19th-century revolution — of a free and democratic Cuba. So that would be my great hope. And it's interesting thinking about how the vision that José Martí had and Antonio Maceo had could play out now in the 21st century.
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Transcript
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
It's 1963 Cuba. A woman named Maria Sirena and a small group of other Cuban women are taking shelter from a hurricane inside the former governor's mansion. Maria Sirena distracts the women at their request by recounting stories of her childhood - personal stories that trace the history of Cuba's long fight for independence. It's the newest novel from Chantel Acevedo. It is called "The Distant Marvels." Chantel Acevedo joins us now from Minnesota Public Radio. Thanks so much for being with us.
CHANTEL ACEVEDO: Oh, my pleasure. I'm glad to be here.
MARTIN: So introduce us to this woman, Maria Sirena. Where is she in her life when the storm hits?
ACEVEDO: So when the novel opens, she's an elderly woman. She's in her eighties. But she's the daughter of Cuban revolutionaries of the war of independence from Spain. And so her life has always been one of revolution. So at the beginning of her life, it's the revolution to gain independence. And at the end of her life, it's the Cuban revolution that's happening.
MARTIN: And she is, as you describe, a member of a particularly unique generation in Cuba. That's clearly something you wanted to get at, this idea of this bridge generation that had seen so much change.
ACEVEDO: Yes, absolutely. And I feel like if you look at the history of Cuba, it's always been a tumultuous one, even going back to Columbus, right. It's always - seems to have been a place that is sort of struggling to gain its footing in the world. So it's just - it's history to me. It's so vibrant and long and twisty and turn-ie.
MARTIN: Maria recounts her life as the daughter of revolutionaries, as you say, living this life of an insurgent really. Can you describe some of the detail of what she lived through, what that life was like?
ACEVEDO: So the Cuban war of independence was actually several decades long. It was really long. For Americans, we often just think of the Spanish-American war that was only four months - four or five months. But for the Cubans, it was a very, very long struggle against Spain. What was interesting to me about this long struggle were some of the key characters, some of the key players in it. One of them was the great poet Jose Marti, sort of the national poet. So sort of having a poet being the person who calls others to arms has fascinated me. You know, that sort that at the heart of it is an art form.
Another big leader was Antonio Maceo, who was of African descent. And so here you have another sort of another leader of the revolutionaries who's a man of color, which was also fascinating, right, because it's the 19th century. That was sort of the drumbeat of war, and these were the leaders of the war. But on the ground, a lot of the success of that war depended on civilians and on the people. And Maria Sirena and her parents are civilians at the end of the day. And a lot of that work was done by women. So the role that women played in revolution was interesting to me. And they set up these talleres, or workshops, where they healed the sick, and they fixed weapons, and they, you know, raised livestock to feed the soldiers. And so on the ground, it was quite interesting, you know, what was happening there.
MARTIN: You yourself are the daughter of Cuban immigrants. Did you base this particular tail or Maria Sirena or any of the other characters on someone in your own life?
ACEVEDO: No, not a particular family member, but I do have a funny story. After the book had been written and sold, I was talking about it with my mom and my grandmother, who herself is in her 80s. And I was telling them what the novel was about. And she starts talking about her grandfather, who was shot and killed, you know, during the war. He was taken out of his house and shot in the woods. And I was like, oh, my goodness. You've never told us this story. And then she said those damn Cubans killed him. And my mother and I looked at each other, and it was like the penny dropped 'cause we, you know, you always imagine that your family was on the good side of history or, you know, or whatever. And she went on to talk about, yeah, we could have still been Spaniards (laughter). And we just had to laugh, you know. Like, her - in her world, in the stories that she heard growing up, it was a shame to have lost independence. And these were the stories that she heard when she was a little girl. And so my mother and I looked at each other like, what, everything we know is wrong.
(LAUGHTER)
ACEVEDO: And grandmother herself, you know, is a wonderful storyteller. How much of what she tells is true and how much of it is made up has always been a question.
MARTIN: (Laughter).
ACEVEDO: And so who knows even if this story is a true story, you know, the one she's telling. And so I suppose Maria Sirena as a character pulls from her, too, just as a great storyteller and someone who could literally spend three days during a hurricane telling you stories of her life and not tire.
MARTIN: This book is obviously coming out at yet another turning point in Cuba's history...
ACEVEDO: Indeed.
MARTIN: ...The U.S. considers lifting the embargo and the relations between U.S. and Cuba are starting to thaw. How does the story you tell in this book help us understand the current political moment in Cuba?
ACEVEDO: Part of it, again, it's a time in Cuban history that - at least in America, people don't often see the Cuban side of things, right. They see the Teddy Roosevelt side of things, the Rough Riders and the Maine, Remember the Maine, yellow journalism and all of that. And so they don't often think about what was happening on the island. And so just getting a sense of this very, very long struggle and this sort of spirit of revolution that has carried through for so many years, right, and why, perhaps, a revolution in 1960 would become successful because often the rhetoric employed by Fidel Castro was the rhetoric of Jose Marti. And so it resonated across generations, right. It resonated backwards in time. Of course, revolution in Cuba turned out to be sort of different than what was promised. You know, it became something else and something rather oppressive, and it's still in place now. But it's interesting thinking about the moment we find ourselves in in Cuba and what I hope is sort of an opening up of freedoms for people on the island, you know, and sort of an end of political prisoners and sort of those things and hopefully helping fulfill the promise of the 19th-century revolution of a free and democratic Cuba. So that would be my great hope, and it's interesting thinking about how the vision that Jose Marti had and Antonio Maceo had could play out now in the 21st Century.
MARTIN: Chantel Acevedo. Her new novel is called "The Distant Marvels." Thanks so much for talking with us, Chantel.
ACEVEDO: Thank you. It was a pleasure. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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