Che and the pre-eminence of culture in revolutionary Cuba: the pursuit of a spontaneous, inseparable integrity

Abstract

The triumphs and continuity of the Cuban revolution in large measure can be attributed to the close bond that exists between political and cultural practice on the island. Emblematic of Cuban politics, key aspects of Ernesto Che Guevara’s revolutionary thought find expression in Cuban cultural theory and practices in the national, popular, and expressive arts domains. This process strikingly sustains the revolution’s goals to bring about an equal and unified national community, a radical anti-imperialist, internationalist political ethos, and a deeply rooted universal arts tradition. In this sense, revolutionary Cuba embraces the dialectical concept of the “category of totality,” whereby the spiritual and the material sides of life are linked intrinsically to each other, thus pursuing, in the words of Lukács, “a spontaneous, inseparable integrity”.