Hijuelos: The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love
During class sessions we've discussed some of the more prominent (and sometimes shocking) aspects of Oscar Hijuelos's The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love: Cesar's exaggerated sexuality; Nestor's melancholy; the significance of the I Love Lucy show, which frames the story; the flashback narrative technique; the meaning of the iconic American dream; and more. But, most significantly, this is a story about the Cuban American immigrant experience. Do you think The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love is a narrative specific to Cuban immigrants, or is it applicable to all immigrants? Or to all Americans of that generation? What aspects of the story transcend the Cuban immigrant experience? Which are unique to Cuban Americans?
Try to address these questions, but also feel free to raise other questions and make comments about other aspects of the novel that you find intriguing or problematic in some way. As always, be sure to read your peers' comments and contribute to the post as part of an ongoing discussion.
Please post your comments no later than 4pm on Thursday, September 21.
posted by Monica @ 8:20 PM
27 Comments:
At 9:21 PM,
Anonymous said…
I believe that this story is applicable to almost all immigrants. I would say all, however there are some immigrant groups who have meshed well into the life here and don't have any physical differences to let them stand out. No matter where you are from, it was difficult to get yourself to be very successful and achieve the "American Dream." We talked about the concept of the american dream in class and I believe that most immigrants had the same difficulty achieving it as Cesar and Nestor.
I believe however that the fact that the Castillo brothers could not return to cuba if they wanted is unique to the Cuba immigrant experience. No matter what happened here they could not go back to try and attain what they believed they wanted back in Cuba.
At 10:01 PM,
Anonymous said…
I completely agree with what Stephanie has said with the Cubans having a more of a unique experience when coming to America to achieve their "American Dream". It would be a hard thing to leave a country to try to better your life, but not being able to return even though you want to becauser of your leader not allowing it. However, their experience in America is a lot like of what immigrants go through when they leave their home country. All immigrants go through feeling a time of alone when they are not familiar the customs of ones country. But the Cubans were different however, they seemed to stick close to one another by the way they networked and hosted parties. This was a way to have a home away from home where they felt comfortable eating and talkin about things that they could all relate to.
At 10:20 PM,
Anonymous said…
I also believe that this book is applicable to all immigrants. Everyone, not just cubans want to come or have came to America wanting the "American Dream." I think it also goes to all American in that generation because everyone one liked the I Love Lucy show; it wasnt just the Cubans. Also every American wants to be famous have lots of money and do what they love the most. I think what makes this book about Cuban immigrants is the food and the culture. How they are a family oriented. How they all have a love for Cuba.
At 8:15 AM,
Anonymous said…
I think that this book is partially applicable to all immigrants in the fact of the hardships of coming to America and finding/living the "American Dream." However, I think that this book is more applicable to Cuban Americans because of the culture (like Lora said) and food as well as the music. The whole book is centered on or around music, thus I feel that this book is not applicable to ALL immigrants. Irish immigrants don't seem to have music as a large part of their culture whereas Cubans do.
At 4:38 PM,
Anonymous said…
Like the others have, said I feel that Mambo Kings is applicable to all immigrants, but like Wendy, I agree in some ways it is more applicable to immigrants from certain areas.
This question also made me think about if the book was applicable to immigrants today. I think that for the most part it is applicable to today's immigrants. Everyone who leaves their country for another will experience some types of hardships and homesickness. However, in many ways, this book can be seen as more applicable to immigrants during the time the book is set than to today's immigrants. Today's immigrant's face many more issues, like technology, that immigrants of the time of the Mambo Kings did not have to face as much, if at all.
At 4:54 PM,
Anonymous said…
To an extent the mambo kings' story depicts what immigrants comming to America face. There is the language barrier. However, since where they live, many of the immigrants already spoke Spanish it was not as the Asian-Americans who first came over. Though, the story mainly depicts the Cuban musician, not the typical immigrant through Cesar and Nestor. As Delores shows, some other immigrants have other dreams than partying and playing in the best group. She wishes to be a teacher and therefore shows another side to the "American Dream." Though it is hard to compare different generations to each other. When a group of people first come to this country they must find a way to adapt and after a while, they mold into the routine of life. However, though eventually they may adapt, the first years are the hardest for new immigrants. The first generation born in the U.S. probably has the hardest time. That's because they must figure out with whom to identify with. Their previous culture or the new one. And since there is no example, they must make their own way.
At 5:42 PM,
Anonymous said…
I don't think Cesar's sexuality and all the music influence would relate to all immigrants. There is a lot of Cuban culture centered around the book all the way through. I think the idea of the American dream is definitely appicable to all Americans and anyone who has immigrated here. That is what all Americans dream and hope for. The frustrations and let downs are easy for anyone to relate to. But I think the most significant Cuban immigrant experience was leaving their families behind in Cuba. Not everyone in Cuba could leave. I think that affected their whole experience in America. I think they were sad and lonely, especially Nestor. I think their dreams might have been fulfilled and they would have been happier if Maria and other family members were in the U.S. also. The most unique apect of Cuba was the music. It was a part of the text throughout the entire book. So overall I think it would relate mostly to Cuban immigrants not every immigrant to the U.S.
At 5:51 PM,
Anonymous said…
I would have to agree with many of the previous comments that this story could apply to all immigrants. I think that people from other countries have a certain idea about America, because it is played up as a place were dreams come true and everything is obtainable. Then when they arrive they find that it is very difficult to make it from nothing. The fact is that many self made people did get brakes and were very lucky. I think that typically many people that immigrate to the States find it rather difficult to adjust. Some of the main aspects of the story that reflect the Cuban immigrant experience is simply the way that Caesar and Nester intended to make their dream come, true through their music. They were trying to keep to their Cuban roots and bring what they liked about Cuba to America to get the people to like it as well. They also never gave up the language or the food, and they surrounded themselves with other Cubans.
At 7:01 PM,
Anonymous said…
There are parts of this novel that apply to immigrants as a whole and others that only applied to Cuban American immigrants. It is relevant to all immigrants in that the theme of the novel is finding YOUR American dream, which in Cesar's case was fame and in Nestor's case happiness. It is germane only to Cuban Americans in the dicriptions in the novel. A great deal of the book highlights the culture of Cuban Americans. Characteristically, Cuban Americans are said to be extremely passionate, and the comes out in the brothers love for music, family, and women.
At 7:30 PM,
Anonymous said…
I believe that this story applies to a majority of immigrants. Like Cesar and Nestor, many, not only Cuban immigrants, have the mind set that in America all of their dreams can come true. However, when they finally reach their destination, it is not always as glorious as they thought it to be. They may face many hardships and struggles along the way that they may never overcome. Cesar and Nestor represented immigrants who tried to acheive their idea of the American dream by becoming rich and famous musicians. Throughout the story, they came to realize that their idea of the American dream did not fill the emptiness that they thought it could. I believe that Cesar and Nestor offer a realistic story that many other Cubans experienced or dreamed about.
At 8:12 PM,
Anonymous said…
As most of the students before me have said that this book applies to all immigrants, I agree, but only to a point. There are key characteristics such as the trying to assimilate to the american way and the struggle to find success, but there is a key difference between cuban immigrants and other immigrants. This being that they could not return to cuba due to the political drama happening at that time and still today.
I think that it is however a good light on the cuban immigrant expierience with how they banded together and acted as though they were all family.
At 8:59 PM,
Anonymous said…
I too believe that the novel The Mambo Kings has a story that can be used in both Cuban and any other immigrant groups. However, I believe that Cubans are more fortunate do to the fact that they are aloud to apply for legal citizenship if they can make it to the U.S. be it legal or illegal. This is not the case for the majority of other immigrant groups. I feel the search for the American Dream is a personal one, one that for many is worth a lifetime of hardship in order to obtain. I also believe that the time period in which this novel takes place plays an important role in the way things happened. For example even Cesar mentions how New York changes, be it the people or the actual city. No longer is it safe to go outside alone at night, like it was back then. I feel that the Cuban immigrant experience is very much one of passions, like mentioned in class. These passions include sex, food, and identity. I found it interesting how both Castillo brothers did not allow for themselves to be "owned".
At 9:26 PM,
Anonymous said…
I agree that "Mambo Kings" can apply to many ethnicities. Like many others have said, Hijuelos designed this book to cater to the hearts of immigrants. His vivid imagery and central focus on the full process of immigration is what makes it applicable to all sorts of people. Each person immigrating can relate to the comfort of home cooked "soul food" of whatever country they are coming from, to the enjoyment of an extended dinner with friends when you're far from home, and to the cultural relativity that television can play in society.
In addition to this book applying to immigrants, it also relates to Americans of that generation. People that lived through the years of this novel experienced the changes that the nation went through regarding immigration increases. Americans can (and today) see how shows like "I love Lucy" can begin to define the image of domestic perfection that society trys to attain. More specifically, Americans of the time could decipher the difference between exaggerated norms and reality of that time in life, wheras the Cuban immigrants saw this elevated and idealized way of life as reality.
At 9:26 PM,
Anonymous said…
This is a tough question to have a unique and fresh perspective on. As said in most of the blogs, this is a coming to America story that can transcend to all immigrants. It is definitely more relatable to the Cuban culture. This reminds me of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman", which depicts the struggle of the white middle class's quest for the American dream, yet it is still relatable and enjoyable to everyone. Besides that, I do not think it is applicable to the majority of Americans at the time. Not only because the main characters are Cuban, but because it has to do with the fast paced world of show business. Most Americans did not live their lives surrounded by music, sex, and alcohol all the time.
At 9:34 PM,
Anonymous said…
I agree with the statements that most of my classmates have made so far. The narrative in The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love is applicable to all immigrants because they are all experiencing the same struggles and triumphs while attempting to become true American citizens. I also agree with the ideas formulated in earlier postings about how the Cubans kept their culture alive after they came to America. The Cubans tried desperately to maintain their cultural identity through their love of music, food, and family.
I also think that this story applies to Americans of all generations, not just the one depicted during Cesar and Nestor's heyday. The use of the I Love Lucy show as the backdrop of the story helps the novel to transcend generations, as most people have seen the show and many have seen the episode that the Castillo brothers appeared in. While the worldly experiences of immigrants may have changed over time, the emotions and feelings that immigrants experience when first coming to America and learning to live in a new culture are surely the same as in Cesar and Nestor's generation.
At 9:42 PM,
Anonymous said…
The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love can definately relate to cubans. As far coming to America to better their life and education. Although it may be hard due to discrimination towards minorities, it is definately better for them.
I believe this book also demonstrates the hardship that minorities go through to acheive the "American Dream." I think what makes this book more relevant to cubans is because it focuses on the music, food, etc...the cuban culture.
At 11:28 PM,
Anonymous said…
In order to decide whether this book could apply to every immigrant experience, I tried to compare it to other books I have read about immigrants from different countries. A couple of themes that reoccur in all of the novels are that immigrants often have to adjust their view of the American dream, and also that the characters are most happy when they are engaged in a part of their life that is rich in the culture of their native land. In the sense that this book is about Cuban immigrants - yes the culture is specific to the Cubam immigrant experience. All immigrants, however brought with them rich traditions from their cultures. Some of these traditions stand out less in our eyes because they were also brought over with the earliest settlers and became apart of the American culture as well.
At 10:08 AM,
Anonymous said…
I don't think this book can be applied to all immigrants. Of course, there are some aspects which can be applied to every immigrant, like loneliness, culture differences, making their own community. However, the experience between Cuban immigrants and Asian immigrants is fairly different.
I've read some books about Asian immigrants before, and I understood there were some important differences among immigrants. First, Asian language is far from English, in contrast to other South American immigrants. In addition to that, Asian's appearance, foods, clothes, habits were unlike American. Besides, they went to America not only for American dream, but also as temporarily workers. Yes, there are differences even among immigrants.
In my opinion, Cuban immigrants' culture is similar to American. So I think this book is specific to the Cuban immigrant’s experience, not other immigrants.
At 11:21 AM,
Anonymous said…
I agree with many of the pervious comments above. This book could portray many diverse immigrant cultures dealing with their version of the “American Dream.” For many different cultures, their views of the American dream are very different. For instance, some might think the “American Dream” has to do with money while so might think it has to do with religious freedoms. I do, however, agree with Nikki H. who thinks “All immigrants, however brought with them rich traditions from their cultures.” That is why America is sometimes called “The Melting Pot.” I think this book does a wonderful job of showing readers the Castillo brothers' different dreams.
At 11:29 AM,
Anonymous said…
I agree with everything Wendy said about the book. I do not believe a large portion of the book is applicable to non Cuban immigrants. The whole process of coming to America is applicable to the other immigrants groups, but I do not believe the lifestyles of other immigrant groups are close the lifestyle of the Cubans therefore they can not relate to the book as well as Cuban Americans can.
At 11:43 AM,
Anonymous said…
I see the book more as a specific look at the Cuban immigration rather than one that encompases the experience of all immigrants. For one, the characters of the book don't really come for some of the more historically prevalent reasons such as religious freedom, religion, land, or forced immigration. They don't really even seem to fit the mold of the "regular" Cuban immigrant as they aren't fleeing from the impending regime change.
The book itself though does deal heavily with the Cuban experience in regards to the traditions that it shows. I also think that is deals mostly with the Cubans because of the timing that the characters move to America. This isn't really the time of a huge migration and it is very late in regards to the other "waves of immigration" that most people think of. Their uniqueness also shows up in the fact that they aren't treated as poorly as other groups were when they came to America. An example a of groups that got much worse treatment would be the Irish who were treated terribly when they first arrived.
In regards to the talk about Cesar and Nestor looking for the American dream I think that thinking is flawed. I also thought the American Dream was a white picket fence and a couple of rug rats but the brothers decide that their dream is instead to become extremely famous and have their own tv show. This dreams seems to fail because they are just shooting way too high. If they hadn't been so wasteful with their money they could easily have accomplished what I see as the traditional American Dream.
At 11:51 AM,
Anonymous said…
In a sense, this book does some bit of justice to the massive amounts of immigrants that came to America in that particular time period. However, I don't feel it's a very accurate depiction as a whole. Probably 99% or more of the immigrants that came here worked in places such as the meat factory, but that's it, there was no mambo music on the side. No "I Love Lucy" appearances were made, and not even close to 15 minutes of fame.
On a different note, the book illustrates a few very positive aspects of American society in the time it was set. The victory in WWII was still relatively fresh in people's minds, the whole attitude of the country was more positive than it had been in twenty years, and immigrants still had the American Dream. The baby boom helped ;), and Cuban immigrants came here to find all these positive things going on.
Long story short, and I don't really know what all I've said, but the book doesn't do a great job depicting immigrant life. It was tough, hardly ever was there a good break, and every morning immigrants would wake up, their American Dream would be over, and they'd go to work.
At 12:52 PM,
Anonymous said…
I basically agree with everything that has been said by everyone else. This book seems to be something that can apply to all immigrants and yet it is very specific to cuban immigration. I think that to some extent, all immigrants probably experience some of the same things when they come to America. Also, they are all probably coming for the same general reasons: a chance at freedom and the "American Dream". However, like some people said, this book is focused more on the culture and experiences of cuban immigration.
At 1:23 PM,
Anonymous said…
Seeing as most of the posted question seems to have been covered in all aspects, I'd like to bring up a different topic, based off of the original question. I find that the Cuban lifestyle (eating traditional Cuban food, drinking) ends up being Cesar's downfall. He literally drinks himself to death. Could that be significant to the Mambo Kings narrative? How he left his home in Cuba, but took part of the culture with him, and in trying to "remember" home, he ends up killing himself. Food for thought...
At 2:10 PM,
Anonymous said…
Well seeing as everyone has torn the original post apart, I thought I'd comment on Kaitlins.
I agree with the fact that their own Cuban culture is both Cesar and Nester's downfall in their lives, but I think it's also a way for Hijuelos to show their exaggerated characteristics. They both try to escape the hardships in their life through the things Cubans pride themselves in. Cesar escapes through music, sex and eating. Nester escapes mostly through Maria and the song he is constantly trying to perfect about her. These things consume both of their lives and become things that neither Nestor nor Cesar can escape.
Both of them spend much time thinking about Cuba and how life would be if they were still there. They even think back to there home growing up, even though it was scarred with their absuive father. I think this shows that although they came to America for a new and better life, they really gained nothing by coming here.
At 2:45 PM,
Anonymous said…
I believe that the immigration experience described in the book could be applied to just about anyone who has immigrated to America. The concept of immigrating to an area where you have family and there are other people who immigrated from the same country as you is how places like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles have ethnic communities like Little Italy, Chinatown, and other areas that are dominated by one ethnic group. I think that for the Cubans during the time Hijuelos wrote about, things were almost better because their culture was diffusing into New York, so they had somewhere to go that felt a lot like home and where they could play their music and enjoy all different aspects of their culture without being looked down on. During different periods of time, different groups of people have been discriminated against because of things that were happening in other parts of the world. In this country, we have discriminated against Africans, Irish, Asians, and (most recently) Mexican. No matter when or from where people immigrate, they will face some animosity. There will always be people who are not accepting of those who are different from them, so the assimilation process will never be easy. The expectations that people have for immigrating to the U.S. are often beyond reach for first generation immigrants. Their children and grandchildren who will be raised here are more likely to achieve the "American Dream" because they will not have to deal with the roadblocks of being immigrants and trying to assimilate to a new culture.
At 9:56 PM,
Anonymous said…
I agree with Lora in that everyone is searching for the "American Dream" not just immigrants. What makes this book, and other books about different cultures, unique is the small tast of culture we can experience through reading the books. Thus, it makes culturally different books applicable to everyone. They just all have different meanings based on peoples backgrounds and experiences.
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