Life on the Hyphen

An expanded, updated edition of the classic study of Cuban-American culture, this engaging book, which mixes the authors own story with his reflections as a trained observer, explores how both famous and ordinary members of the 1.5 Generation (Cubans who came to the United States as children or teens) have lived life on the hyphenneither fully Cuban nor fully American, but a fertile hybrid of both. Offering an in-depth look at Cuban-Americans who have become icons of popular and literary cultureincluding Desi Arnaz, Oscar Hijuelos, musician Prez Prado, and crossover pop star Gloria Estefan, as well as poets Jos Kozer and Orlando Gonzlez Esteva, performers Willy Chirino and Carlos Oliva, painter Humberto Calzada, and othersGustavo Prez Firmat chronicles what it means to be Cuban in America. The first edition of Life on the Hyphen won the Eugene M. Kayden National University Press Book Award and received honorable mentions for the Modern Language Associations Katherine Singer Kovacs Prize and the Latin American Studies Associations Bryce Wood Book Award.