![]() If I could only see Abuela Celia again, I'd know where I belonged.” Ironically, though, Pilar invests authority in her grandmother to help her determine where she belongs. I'm not sure Cuba is, but I want to find out. Pilar always feels uncertain about where her home is: “Even though I’ve been living in Brooklyn all my life, it doesn't feel like home to me. ![]() ![]() Pilar, pulled between the United States and Cuba, struggles for a stable identity. And there's only my imagination where our history should be.” Because of the actions of politicians and the military, Pilar can’t access the Cuban part of her history and must create it for herself-a reflection of the distance between those with the power to move history and those who must live with the consequences. Every day Cuba fades a little more inside me, my grandmother fades a little more inside me. “I resent the hell out of the politicians and the generals who force events on us that structure our lives, that dictate the memories we'll have when we're old. Most of what I've learned that's important I've learned on my own, or from my grandmother.” In other words, it’s up to individuals to learn what’s meaningful and how different stories and events are significant to their own lives-people shouldn’t trust the accounts of others just because they claim to be authoritative.īecause the Cuban Revolution has forced Pilar’s family to move to the United States, Pilar feels arbitrarily cut off from an important part of who she is. Why don’t I know anything about them? Who chooses what we should know or what's important? I know I have to decide these things for myself. Or the life stories of prostitutes in Bombay. Like the time there was a freak hailstorm in the Congo and the women took it as a sign that they should rule. Pilar observes that the way history is written is largely subjective: “If it were up to me, I'd record other things. In the novel, the arbitrary nature of history is taken for granted. By focusing on Pilar’s struggle for identity, García argues that, given arbitrary, ever-shifting political forces, each person must carve out a sense of identity for oneself without looking exclusively to history or even family to guide them. But García pays particular attention to young Pilar’s experience of living in exile, feeling neither quite Cuban nor fully American. Some, like Celia, commit themselves to Cuba no matter what others, like Lourdes, separate themselves from their Cuban past. García’s characters take various stances relative to the history unfolding around them. Given the political upheaval in Cuba over the course of the 20th century and the Cuban diaspora that resulted, individual characters struggle to figure out where they belong. The designs for the 2024 American Women Quarters are expected to be released in mid-2023.Įditor's note: This story has been corrected to remove a description of Patsy Takemoto Mink as being the first Black woman in Congress.The question of personal identity is a constant problem in the novel. Mary Edwards Walker, who was a Civil War-era surgeon, women's rights advocate and abolitionist Pauli Murray, a poet, writer, activist, lawyer and Episcopal priest, as well as a strong advocate for civil rights, and Zitkala-Ša, also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, a writer, songwriter, educator and political activist for the rights of Native Americans. The other women chosen were Patsy Takemoto Mink, who was the first woman of color to serve in Congress Dr. By honoring these pioneering women, the Mint continues to connect America through coins which are like small works of art in your pocket." "The women pioneered change during their lifetimes, not yielding to the status quo imparted during their lives. ![]() "All of the women being honored have lived remarkable and multi-faceted lives, and have made a significant impact on our Nation in their own unique way," said Mint Director Ventris C. Cruz is the winner of many distinctions and honors, including five Grammy Awards, a National Medal of Arts and a posthumous Grammy for Lifetime Achievement. Michael Caulfield Archive/WireImage via Getty ImagesĬelia Cruz, also known as Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso, was one of the 20th century's most well-known Latin performers and a cultural icon. ![]()
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