Scenes of Latin American Cultural Debate in the 60s: Conferences and Journals in Revolutionary Cuba

Abstract

This paper analyses and describes the dynamics of debate within the field of Latin American culture during the 1960s, with a focus on Cuba. The essay’s aim is to offer some appreciations on the practice of discussion in its historical development in a continental context of high politicisation and of profound transformation of the inner logic of different spheres of cultural production. Following a radical drive that emanated from the Cuban experience, Latin American intellectuals met in the island at least in two ways: in print culture and face to face. After characterising the intellectual field of post-revolutionary Cuba and its intersections with politics, I concentrate on the forms and topics of cultural controversy by analysing the cultural journal Casa de las Américas. I suggest that in its editorial experience we can observe a process of cultural politicisation that seeks to uphold a balance between the participation in revolutionary activity and the use of modern codes for aesthetic and intellectual activity.