Dreaming in Cuban
Character Timeline
Jorge del Pino is born 1897
Celia Almeida is born 1909
“When she was a baby, a confusion of brothers and sisters surrounded her. She barely recalls their faces, only the
fringe of their dense hair leaning into her carton crib. Most days, Celia lay under a fan palm beside the bohío, its
thatched roof steaming after the morning rains. She remembers this infant landscape, the waving haze of fronds
through the torn netting that someone fastened to her face to keep out the flies.” (p. 92).
Celia is sent to live in Havana 1913
When she is only four years old, Celia is sent by her mother to live in Havana with her Tia Alicia. The reasons
aren’t quite clear – but Garcia implies that Celia’s mother is neglectful.
Jorge begins working for the American Electric Broom Company 1919
Celia meets Gustavo Sierra de Armas at El Encanto Department Store March 1934
El Encanto is Havana’s finest department store – expensive and stocked with foreign goods. Celia works at the
photography counter, selling cameras and film. It is here that she meets Gustavo Sierra de Armas a married
Spanish lawyer on from Granada The two have an affair.
Celia suffers from depression July, 1934 - February, 1935
Following the departure of Gustavo, Celia sinks into what seems to be depression. She stays in her bed for months,
completely passive, ineffectual and miserable.
Celia writes to Gustavo October 11, 1934 - January 11, 1959
Celia marries Jorge March 1935
Jorge sends Celia to a psychiatric hospital 1936
Celia seems to suffer from depression after she gives birth to Lourdes. Indeed, her household situation living with
Jorge’s bitter sister and mother is intolerable. Later, Jorge says that he wanted to “break” Celia, to make her forget
“the Spaniard” (Gustavo).
Lourdes del Pino is born 1936
Celia and Jorge move to Santa Teresa del Mar 1937
Felicia del Pino is born 1938
Javier del Pino is born 1946
Celia protests for the release of rebels from prison 1953
Following Fidel Castro’s failed attack on the Moncada barracks, Celia protests in Havana for their release from
prison.
Celia reads "Madame Bovary" 1954
Lourdes marries Rufino Puente 1956
The wedding takes place at the Tropicana hotel, a popular gathering spot for the wealthy supporters of Batista –
including Rufino’s family.
Pilar Puente del Pino is born 01/11/1959
Lourdes, Rufino and Pilar move to America 1961
Luz and Milagro Villaverde are born 1962
Javier moves to Czechoslovakia 1966
Hugo leaves Felicia 08/01/1966
Felicia decides to murder her husband. Felicia lit a rag and approached Hugo as he slept on the couch. “You will
never return here,” Felicia said and released the flames onto his face. Hugo did not return for nine years.
Ivanito Villaverde is born 1967
Jorge dies 1970
Irinita del Pino is born 1971
Felicia attends a re-education camp in the Sierra Maestra 1972
Felicia tries to kill herself & Ivanito. 1972
Pilar attends art school in Rhode Island 1977
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in
Providence, Rhode Island contiguous with the Brown University campus.
The school consistently ranks as the number one fine arts college in the
United States. Garcia doesn’t mention RISD by name, but likely is what she
means.
Pilar buys a bass guitar 1978
After Pilar catches her boyfriend cheating on her, she buys a bass guitar. The first songs she practices are from
Lou Reed’s “The Velvet Underground and Nico.”
Pilar transfers to Barnard College 1978
After a semester of art school in Rhode Island and another semester in Florence, Pilar transfers to Barnard.
Founded in 1889, Barnard College is a private liberal arts school for women affiliated with Columbia University.
It’s located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. It is highly selective and comparable to ivy
league schools.
Javier disappears 1978
Javier had "d talked of going to the mountains, of planting coffee on the forested slopes. He said he’d descend to
Santiago for carnival and dance to the fifes and the melé, to the snare and the batá drums, that he’d die (in sequins
and feathers) at the head of a conga line in Céspedes Park.
Lourdes dreams about Javier. In her dream, Ilda Limón “found a man face down in a pool of night rain in her yard
and swears it’s Javier del Pino, although her eyesight is no longer so good. Her neighbors tell Ilda she’s crazy,
that it’s not Javier but just a poor wretch who tripped on the roots of her gardenia tree and drowned.”
Celia has a mastecomy to treat breast cancer 1978
Felicia dies 1980
Pilar and Lourdes visit Cuba 04/01/1980 - 04/07/1980
Cuban History and Culture
Ten Years War 1868 - 1878
The Ten Years War of independence ends in a truce with Spain promising reforms and greater autonomy –
promises that were mostly never met.
Cuba begins war of independence 1895
The poet and activist Jose Marti galvanizes the Cuban people into a revolution against Spain. The US does not
intervene on Cuba’s behalf until later. Unfortunately, tragically, Marti dies early in the battles and becomes a
martyr.
Spanish American War April 25, 1898 - August 12, 1898
This war between the US and Spain granted Cuba its independence. However, the US maintained a presence on
the island for many, many years as it considered its own best interests.
"The Little War" 1912
This “war” was a racial conflict where army members killed black civilians. Herminia Delgado, the book’s only
black character, references it when she considers racial issues in 1980. She says:
“For many years in Cuba, nobody spoke of the problem between blacks and whites. It was considered too
disagreeable to discuss. But my father spoke to me clearly so that I would understand what happened to his father
and his uncles during the Little War of 1912, so that I would know how our men were hunted down day and night
like animals, and finally hung by their genitals from the lampposts in Guáimaro. The war that killed my
grandfather and great-uncles and thousands of other blacks is only a footnote in our history books. Why, then,
should I trust anything I read? I trust only what I see, what I know with my heart, nothing more” (184-185)
Socialist Party is founded 1925
Ceiba tree 1928
The El Templete church was built next to a great Ceiba tree in 1928. It’s not clear
when the tree was planted. The tree was highly revered by the natives who attributed
it with magical-religious powers. People say that both the first religious ceremony
and first town council meeting took place there. It’s a custom for Havana residents
to circle it three times as they touch, hug and kiss it. At each turn they drop coins.
Some represent wishes, others gratitude for dreams that came true.
Celia has a special connection to the Ceiba tree. Note, for example, that their names
are the same except one letter. She frequently visits it with concerns and needing
help. Her devotion to the tree is interesting given her aversion to santería. Santería,
of course, is a religion that was deeply influenced by mystical African and
indigenous beliefs and rituals. Herminia, who practices Santería, also visits the tree.
Another interesting point is that García frequently references the tree without going
into the background of its significance, or the rituals surrounding it. Instead, the
reader is left with scenes of the characters’ interaction with it.
Here are the instances where Celia and Herminia show their attachment to the tree:
“After her sleepless night in the house on Palmas Street, Celia wanders to the ceiba tree in the corner of the Plaza
de las Armas. Fruit and coins are strewn by its trunk and the ground around the tree bulges with buried offerings.
Celia knows that good charms and bad are hidden in the stirred earth near its sacred roots. Tía Alicia told her once
that the ceiba is a saint, female and maternal. She asks the tree permission before crossing its shadow, then circles
it three times and makes a wish for Felicia” (43).
Celia frequently stops by the ceiba tree in the Plaza de las Armas on her way home from Palmas Street. She
places an orange and a few coins by its trunk, and says a short prayer for her daughter. Now and then she runs into
Herminia Delgado carrying baskets filled with crusty roots and ratoons and fresh, healing spices for Felicia.
Aniseed for hysteria. Sarsaparilla for the nerves and any remaining traces of syphilis. River fern and espartillo to
ward off further evil. Herminia never mentions the ceiba tree, but Celia recognizes the distinct cluster of its leaves
among her many herbs” (90).
“Tía Alicia took her to museums and the symphony and the ancient ceiba tree. Celia ran around it three times for
every wish, until the tree repeated itself like a flashing deck of cards” (33).
Pilar, too, comes to love the Ceiba tree when she visits Cuba. This is just one example of her connection to Celia.
Pilar thinks:
“There’s something about the vegetation, too, that I respond to instinctively—the stunning bougainvillea, the
flamboyants and jacarandas, the orchids growing from the trunks of the mysterious ceiba trees” (235).
Lorca lectures at Havana's Principal de la Comedia Theater 1930
Celia attends the talks by Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca and falls in love with his writing, especially the
Gypsy songs.
Tidal Wave Strikes Cuba 1944
Fidel Castro supposedly tries out for US baseball team 1950
Sometime in the late 40s or early 50s, Fidel Castro tried out for the Washington Senators baseball team and was
almost accepted. Or at least, that’s what Celia thinks. She muses:
“El Líder, a star pitcher in his youth, narrowly missing a baseball career in America. His wicked curveball
attracted the major-league scouts, and the Washington Senators were interested in signing him but changed their
minds. Frustrated, El Líder went home, rested his pitching arm, and started a revolution in the mountains” (6).
However, many have said that this story is just a rumor, such as Yale professor Roberto González Echevarría.
1950s snapshot 1950 - 1960
Ernest Hemingway was awarded a Pulitzer in 1952 and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954 for The Old
Man and the Sea; meanwhile Cuban-born actor and musician Desi Arnaz sang his signature song, “Babalu,” on
the television show “I Love Lucy.” Fidel Castro and Argentinean revolutionary Ché Guevara joined forces in
1956 to overthrow Fulgencio Batista in a peasant-based social revolution.
Attack on the Moncada Barracks 07-26-1953
This attack on a government barracks – although it failed disastrously – marks the start of Castro’s revolution. It
gave Castro the opportunity to prove himself as a leader and defend himself – while pronouncing the causes and
values of the revolution.
Alicia Alonso forms the National Ballet Company of Cuba in 1966.. 1955
Alicia Alonso (born December 21, 1920) is the Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and choreographer. Her company
became the Ballet de Cuba in 1955.
Castro wages guerilla war 1956 - 1959
After the failed attack on the Moncada Barracks (and his subsequent imprisonment), Fidel Castro regroups. He
arrives by boat from Mexico to Cuba and camps out in the Sierra Maestra, where he wages a guerilla war that is
eventually successful.
Agrarian Reform Laws 1959 - 1963
These laws mandated the confiscation and redistribution of land. They were the impetus of many – the upper class
in particular – to leave Cuba.
REVOLUTION! 1959 Fidel Castro’s revolution triumphs. The guerrillas take Havana and dictator Fulgencio
Batista flees the island.
Operation Peter Pan 1960
Operation Peter Pan (Operación Peter Pan or Operación Pedro Pan), was an operation coordinated by the United
States government, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami, and certain Cubans. Between 1960 and 1962, over
14,000 children were sent from Cuba to Miami by their parents. The operation was designed to transport the
children of parents who opposed the revolutionary government, and was later expanded to include children of
parents concerned by rumors that their children would be shipped to Soviet work camps.The children were placed
with friends, relatives and group homes in 35 states.
1960s snapshot 1960 - 1970
In the mid-1960s, a new form of music became popular: nueva trova, inspired by and idealizing the Revolution of
1959. The United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961. In 1962, the thirteen day “Cuban missile
crisis” raised the specter of nuclear war as President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev
negotiated the removal of nuclear missile bases being built in Cuba, ninety miles off the Florida coast.
Cuba declares socialism 1961
Fidel Castro declares the country to follow a socialist brand of communism. This will ally it with Russia and
China, enabling aid and support from those countries.
El Encanto department store burns down 1961
Celia had sold cameras at El Encanto department store before the revolution. It was high end and exclusive.
Attack at the Bay of Pigs/Playa Giron 1961
Cuban Missle Crisis 1962
The Cuban missile crisis ignites when, fearing a US invasion, Castro agrees to allow the USSR to deploy nuclear
missiles on the island. The crisis was subsequently resolved when the USSR agreed to remove the missiles in
return for the withdrawal of US nuclear missiles from Turkey.
Soviet Union invades Prague August 20, 1968
The Warsaw Pact troops, led by the Soviet Union, make a raid on Prague to cut down on reformist trends. Scores
were killed in the invasion. A repressive communist regime was established in the aftermath. Cuba was NOT
directly involved with the attack, but did have ties to the Soviet Union. The event was condemned by countries
around the globe.
1970s snapshot 1970 - 1980
Cuban novelist, poet, and essayist Reinaldo Arenas was sent to prison by the Castro regime in 1973 after being
charged and convicted for “ideological deviation” (Arenas was homosexual) and for publishing abroad without
official consent. He was exiled via the Mariel Boat Lift.
The Organization of American States lifted economic and diplomatic sanctions against Cuba in 1975; later that
year, the United States allowed its foreign subsidiaries to trade with Cuba.
"Irakere" jazz group forms 1973
Milagro gives her father, Hugo Villaverde, an Irakere jazz tape in 1976.
Celia Cruz turns 50 1975
Celia Cruz (October 21, 1925 – July 16, 2003) was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most
successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums. She was renowned
internationally as the “Queen of Salsa” as well as "La Guarachera de Cuba.She spent most of her career living in
New Jersey, and working in the United States and several Latin American countries.
Celia Cobo of Billboard Magazine once said “Cruz is indisputably the best known and most influential female
figure in the history of Cuban music.”
Angolan Civil War 1975 - 1991
During this period, Cuba was heavily involved in the Angolan Civil War. It sent troops and helped plan battles, as
well as worked to establish a communist government. Cuba’s involvement ended with the fall of the Soviet Union,
and the beginning of Cuba’s “Special Period in Time of Peace.”
The war is mentioned when Lourdes, after being raped, has a vision of what will happen to her abductor. She
envisions that he will have a rotting leg in Africa.
In another instance, Herminia says her oldest son has died in Angola.
Cuba adopts the Family Code March 8, 1975
The code says that a marriage should be based on equality between both spouses. Husband and wife have equal
responsibilities to care for their family members and must cooperate to provide the best upbringing for their
children – including a socialist education. Celia governs as a civilian judge according to this code.
Text: “Since the Family Code passed earlier this year, more and more people are turning to the courts with their
problems. Women who claim their husbands are not doing their share of their housework or who want to put a
stop to an extramarital affair bring the matter before a judge. Very few men, however, take their complaints to the
People’s Court for fear of appearing weak or, unthinkably, as cuckolds” (112).
Castro becomes president 1976
Fidel Castro becomes president of Cuba.
Family Reunification Program 1978
With this program, Cuban exiles are permitted to briefly return to visit with their families.
1980s snapshot 1980 - 1990
In 1968, Heberto Padilla was awarded the national prize for poetry for Fuera del Juego (Out of the Game). Soon
after, he was labeled “counter- revolutionary” and he was placed under house arrest. In 1980, Senator Edward
Kennedy secured Padilla’s release to the U.S. Castro relaxed emigration policies in 1980, allowing more than
125,000 Cubans to leave the country. This “Mariel Boat Lift” lasted for six months.
Celia Sánchez dies
January 11, 1980
Celia Sanchez
Sanchez was a participant of the Cuban Revolution and a close friend, and rumored
lover of Fidel Castro. In the book, during the scene at the Peruvian Embassy,
someone says that Fidel’s mistress just died and he hasn’t been himself.
Riot at Havana's Peruvian Embassy 1990
Riot at Havana’s Peruvian Embassy
1990s snapshot 1990 - 2000
In 1999, PBS aired “Buena Vista Social Club,” documenting elderly Cuban musicians brought out of retirement
to talk about, and play songs from, the golden age of Cuban music.
The U.S. Congress passed The Helms-Burton Act (The Cuban Liberty And Democratic Solidarity Act) in 1996,
granting American citizens the right to sue foreign investors profiting from expropriated U.S. assets.
2000s snapshot 2000 - 2010
In February 2007, Voice of America reported a ration book allows Cubans to “buy limited stocks of food at
government-run stores. Ten eggs a month, two kilos of sugar, half a kilo of chicken, a bar of soap, and every day
just one bread roll . . .”.
While the U.S. maintains its 40-year-old embargo, Canada, Spain, Italy, and other countries have invested more
than $4 billion in international tourism and other Cuban goods.