On Incest and Adaptation: The Foundational Scandal of Cecilia Valdés

Elisabeth L. Austin, Elena Lahr-Vivaz

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

This chapter examines three adaptations of Cuba’s national novel Cecilia Valdés (Cirilo Villaverde, 1882) as reflections on race and the persistence of colonial power structures in Cuba. Humberto Solás’s 1982 film Cecilia suppresses the incestuous relationship between half-siblings Cecilia and Leonardo, instead highlighting Cuba’s Revolutionary potential. Conversely, Reinaldo Arenas’s 1987 novel La loma del ángel [The Graveyard of the Angels] parodies and emphasizes the incest between the lovers as a critique of the corruption within Cuba’s socialist regime. Finally, Norge Espinosa Mendoza’s puppet play La Virgencita de bronce [The Little Bronze Virgin] suggests that all adaptations—of Cecilia Valdés, culture, and history in general—are inherently incestuous, looking to the past to narrate the future.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationPalgrave Studies in Adaptation and Visual Culture
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Pages81-98
Number of pages18
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023

Publication series

NamePalgrave Studies in Adaptation and Visual Culture
ISSN (Print)2634-629X
ISSN (Electronic)2634-6303

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Cultural Studies
  • Communication
  • Visual Arts and Performing Arts
  • Linguistics and Language

Keywords

  • Adaptation
  • Cecilia Valdés
  • Cirilo Villaverde
  • Humberto Solás
  • Incest
  • Norge Espinosa Mendoza
  • Reinaldo Arenas

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