Ana Amigo (Madrid, 1987) studied undergraduate courses of Art History in Madrid, Florence, and Granada, and then fulfilled a Master’s Degree in Spanish Art. In 2013 she started a PhD program at the Universidad Complutense. A four-year predoctoral fellowship allowed her to enhance her dissertation process by carrying out research in Havana (2014), New York University (2015) and the OpenSpace Research Centre in the UK (2016). She holds a Ph. D. cum laude for her project "Looking for a Modern Identity. Urban Leisure in Nineteenth Century Havana (1844-1868)". Her research interests include Latin American Studies, Postcolonial theories, the trope of Modernity in traditional scholarship and the Colonial experience through the senses.
A big part of the traditional features associated with urban modernity—industrial pollution, dehu... more A big part of the traditional features associated with urban modernity—industrial pollution, dehumanization, alienation from the immediate environment—do not apply to Havana. Quite the opposite. A great deal of Cuba's phantasmagoria during the nineteenth century was a continuous feedback mythology based on the colonial trope of the Exotic. For that matter, smoke did not asphyxiate Havana's dwellers, identity issues did. Its delicate relationship with the Spanish metropolis, the increasing commercial and political links with the United States of America, and the permanent fear of a slave revolution, led to a profound identity crisis. Within that process, the exotic images of the city were embraced and spread as part of a new identity in the making. In this article, I argue that urban gardens—even when they were part of the colonial agenda—played a decisive role in defining and legitimizing Havana's attributes and personal notions of modernity through leisure expressions. They became a counterbalancing scape, a liminal venue where a certain degree of permeability towards the fossilized urban hierarchies was allowed.
"Multiple Modernities in Latin America: Discourse on modernity and antimodernity in the political and identification processes from the 19–21st century", 23 November 2018, Metropolitan University Prague, 2018
Despite being one of the most active cores for the circulation of capital, 19th Century Havana he... more Despite being one of the most active cores for the circulation of capital, 19th Century Havana held very little industry. The Slave and Sugar Trade deeply transformed the modern dialectics of labor and leisure, whether or not this binary structure was a result of capitalism or the mere expression of The Human Condition itself– as Hannah Arendt thoroughly argued. Even though both sides of this dualism were equally important for the functioning of the modern economy, leisure and consumerism –especially those enjoyed without blood, sweat, and tears, as for the dominant population in Havana- would always bear the burden of the Accursed Share. For that matter, urban leisure became the main means by which Havana developed and justified its modernity. In such a way, and given the particularities of the slavery system, the dialogue between Havana and modernity was exclusively held in terms of expenditure, unlike the labor/consumption dialectics developed in the big metropolis of its time.
Hence, the dominant class leisure became a key element in the new Cuban identity and an apparent solution to all of its contradictions: Slavery, Abolition, Independence, Anexionism, Race, Genre; but also deeply determined the layout of the city of Havana during the Nineteenth-Century, as we can see from an extensive catalogue of the leisure venues between 1844 and 1868. Finally, while seeking a modern identity and developing a leisure culture that matched this transformation, it is possible to track the emergence of a series of visual policies embodying the whole ongoing process. This new image revealed Havana’s particular way of relating to modernity and capitalism, a narrative originated in the foreign vision and based on the reduction of the otherness into a consumption formula, which Cuba would eventually incorporate as a key feature of its national imaginary.
This paper will explore some of the reasons why and how the iconography of the heart became a sym... more This paper will explore some of the reasons why and how the iconography of the heart became a symbolic milestone in postmodern imaginary. Far from just being a mainstream theme in Visual Culture, the (sacred) heart embodies one of the most profound debates of human history: the one between science and religion. Despite the variety in styles and audiences, contemporary media and artists share a consistent interest in depicting the heart. This parallels the medical advances of Western world, offering a ground-breaking opportunity to raise questions about the competing visual representations that define and portray the «true» nature of the heart. Paralleling William Harvey’s work in the 17th Century, the first heart transplant in 1967 and the raise of Artificial Life, the artistic and mainstream iconography of the heart is emblematic of this duality of science and spirituality, directly pointing to the heart as an iconic site where different beliefs manifest contested claims about the human experience.
Havana, 1850's. Within the identity crisis that was incubating, the Island of Cuba started being ... more Havana, 1850's. Within the identity crisis that was incubating, the Island of Cuba started being associated with a wide range of tangible and intangible cultural expressions related to vice, crime, and general vagrancy. Although both statistics and claims of the local authorities and intellectuals proved this reality to a certain degree, some of these foreign visions, especially those coming from the American visitors, had a deeper scope than mere description. Through a patronizing discourse, these Sodom-and-Gomorrah-scenarios of Havana were constantly repeated and broadcasted during the 1850’s as a way to support the annexationist movement against Spanish administration. Within this type of literature we become witnesses of knife crime scenes, lottery games, secret hand fan codes, hypersexualized mulatas, cock fighting, and church flirting. I argue that a biased subtext can also be found. A background that influenced the city’s collective imaginary and the way it portrayed itself in the visual media and tour-guides of the period. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to present some highlights of these urban narratives and to explore the extent to which they shaped the layout of the emerging metropolis
Durante el s. XVIII el chocolate alcanzó un papel protagonista en toda reunión social que se prec... more Durante el s. XVIII el chocolate alcanzó un papel protagonista en toda reunión social que se preciase, generando un rico legado de cultura material para su consumo. Empezando por la cocina valenciana de finales de siglo, donde descubriremos el proceso casi alquímico de su preparación, hasta la cuidada selección de piezas procedentes de Alcora y Buen Retiro, la colección del MNAD ofrece el escenario idóneo para descubrir de primera mano el fascinante fenómeno de esta liturgia.
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the wall as a categorical statement of Western urban d... more The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the wall as a categorical statement of Western urban discourse by pointing out both aesthetic and ethical values. Analyzing the entire occidental culture, we may see that, in fact, there are numerous examples that could be cited as a manifestation of this profound impact on the collective imagination, such us Homer’s Iliad, some of Bible’s walled cities as Jerusalem, or even contemporary tales as Game of Thrones. Not only does the wall appear as a strong reference for high and mainstream culture, but also feedswith superstition these metaphysical and spiritual thoughts developed in popular culture setting up a strong concept of limit in our society.
During the Ancien Régime the wall became one of the principal ways for the absolute monarchy to show and emphasize its power. Until the end of 18th century there was no civilization without city, and there was no city without its fortified wall. This means that both human and civil space where defined by the ramparts. In addition to this fact, the walls had such a remarkable aesthetic component –based on architectonic, technological and artistic values-, complemented by its ethical dimension -social harmony, taxes, prophylactic measures.
Starting 19th century, the urban drift from the country to the city precipitated an overcrowding process into the historical towns, and so a lot of areas outside the wall limits started being urbanised. Concerning military technology, the wall was entirely outdated as a defence system, and city organization virtualized into complex series of street furniture.
In spite of the strong necessity of progress, a traumatic process started when the referent of the wall was blown up, creating a grave imbalance into citizens’ perception of their city. Under the influence of romantic tendencies, some politicians started overdoing the use of warnings about the importance of preserving the walls as a key piece into urban heritage, even though most of them were mainly worried about how to restore security. Yet besides this, the urban sprawl continued and there were some problems which needed to be tackled, such as how to start a new system of mobility devices according to modern urban schemes.
Not only in the cities where the walls were safeguarded (Ávila, Rome), but also in those where the defensive complex was torn down (Barcelona, Havana, Vienna), population had to metabolize a series of events tightly related to the indelible trace the monument had left into the urban fabric. From the enhancement of this defensive fossil as public, environmentally friendly space to the attempt to create an historical city center –highly profitable, bitterly criticize-, we will go along all this current urban controversies that were generated at the beginning of the Modern Age in the colonial city of Havana.
A big part of the traditional features associated with urban modernity—industrial pollution, dehu... more A big part of the traditional features associated with urban modernity—industrial pollution, dehumanization, alienation from the immediate environment—do not apply to Havana. Quite the opposite. A great deal of Cuba's phantasmagoria during the nineteenth century was a continuous feedback mythology based on the colonial trope of the Exotic. For that matter, smoke did not asphyxiate Havana's dwellers, identity issues did. Its delicate relationship with the Spanish metropolis, the increasing commercial and political links with the United States of America, and the permanent fear of a slave revolution, led to a profound identity crisis. Within that process, the exotic images of the city were embraced and spread as part of a new identity in the making. In this article, I argue that urban gardens—even when they were part of the colonial agenda—played a decisive role in defining and legitimizing Havana's attributes and personal notions of modernity through leisure expressions. They became a counterbalancing scape, a liminal venue where a certain degree of permeability towards the fossilized urban hierarchies was allowed.
"Multiple Modernities in Latin America: Discourse on modernity and antimodernity in the political and identification processes from the 19–21st century", 23 November 2018, Metropolitan University Prague, 2018
Despite being one of the most active cores for the circulation of capital, 19th Century Havana he... more Despite being one of the most active cores for the circulation of capital, 19th Century Havana held very little industry. The Slave and Sugar Trade deeply transformed the modern dialectics of labor and leisure, whether or not this binary structure was a result of capitalism or the mere expression of The Human Condition itself– as Hannah Arendt thoroughly argued. Even though both sides of this dualism were equally important for the functioning of the modern economy, leisure and consumerism –especially those enjoyed without blood, sweat, and tears, as for the dominant population in Havana- would always bear the burden of the Accursed Share. For that matter, urban leisure became the main means by which Havana developed and justified its modernity. In such a way, and given the particularities of the slavery system, the dialogue between Havana and modernity was exclusively held in terms of expenditure, unlike the labor/consumption dialectics developed in the big metropolis of its time.
Hence, the dominant class leisure became a key element in the new Cuban identity and an apparent solution to all of its contradictions: Slavery, Abolition, Independence, Anexionism, Race, Genre; but also deeply determined the layout of the city of Havana during the Nineteenth-Century, as we can see from an extensive catalogue of the leisure venues between 1844 and 1868. Finally, while seeking a modern identity and developing a leisure culture that matched this transformation, it is possible to track the emergence of a series of visual policies embodying the whole ongoing process. This new image revealed Havana’s particular way of relating to modernity and capitalism, a narrative originated in the foreign vision and based on the reduction of the otherness into a consumption formula, which Cuba would eventually incorporate as a key feature of its national imaginary.
This paper will explore some of the reasons why and how the iconography of the heart became a sym... more This paper will explore some of the reasons why and how the iconography of the heart became a symbolic milestone in postmodern imaginary. Far from just being a mainstream theme in Visual Culture, the (sacred) heart embodies one of the most profound debates of human history: the one between science and religion. Despite the variety in styles and audiences, contemporary media and artists share a consistent interest in depicting the heart. This parallels the medical advances of Western world, offering a ground-breaking opportunity to raise questions about the competing visual representations that define and portray the «true» nature of the heart. Paralleling William Harvey’s work in the 17th Century, the first heart transplant in 1967 and the raise of Artificial Life, the artistic and mainstream iconography of the heart is emblematic of this duality of science and spirituality, directly pointing to the heart as an iconic site where different beliefs manifest contested claims about the human experience.
Havana, 1850's. Within the identity crisis that was incubating, the Island of Cuba started being ... more Havana, 1850's. Within the identity crisis that was incubating, the Island of Cuba started being associated with a wide range of tangible and intangible cultural expressions related to vice, crime, and general vagrancy. Although both statistics and claims of the local authorities and intellectuals proved this reality to a certain degree, some of these foreign visions, especially those coming from the American visitors, had a deeper scope than mere description. Through a patronizing discourse, these Sodom-and-Gomorrah-scenarios of Havana were constantly repeated and broadcasted during the 1850’s as a way to support the annexationist movement against Spanish administration. Within this type of literature we become witnesses of knife crime scenes, lottery games, secret hand fan codes, hypersexualized mulatas, cock fighting, and church flirting. I argue that a biased subtext can also be found. A background that influenced the city’s collective imaginary and the way it portrayed itself in the visual media and tour-guides of the period. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to present some highlights of these urban narratives and to explore the extent to which they shaped the layout of the emerging metropolis
Durante el s. XVIII el chocolate alcanzó un papel protagonista en toda reunión social que se prec... more Durante el s. XVIII el chocolate alcanzó un papel protagonista en toda reunión social que se preciase, generando un rico legado de cultura material para su consumo. Empezando por la cocina valenciana de finales de siglo, donde descubriremos el proceso casi alquímico de su preparación, hasta la cuidada selección de piezas procedentes de Alcora y Buen Retiro, la colección del MNAD ofrece el escenario idóneo para descubrir de primera mano el fascinante fenómeno de esta liturgia.
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the wall as a categorical statement of Western urban d... more The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the wall as a categorical statement of Western urban discourse by pointing out both aesthetic and ethical values. Analyzing the entire occidental culture, we may see that, in fact, there are numerous examples that could be cited as a manifestation of this profound impact on the collective imagination, such us Homer’s Iliad, some of Bible’s walled cities as Jerusalem, or even contemporary tales as Game of Thrones. Not only does the wall appear as a strong reference for high and mainstream culture, but also feedswith superstition these metaphysical and spiritual thoughts developed in popular culture setting up a strong concept of limit in our society.
During the Ancien Régime the wall became one of the principal ways for the absolute monarchy to show and emphasize its power. Until the end of 18th century there was no civilization without city, and there was no city without its fortified wall. This means that both human and civil space where defined by the ramparts. In addition to this fact, the walls had such a remarkable aesthetic component –based on architectonic, technological and artistic values-, complemented by its ethical dimension -social harmony, taxes, prophylactic measures.
Starting 19th century, the urban drift from the country to the city precipitated an overcrowding process into the historical towns, and so a lot of areas outside the wall limits started being urbanised. Concerning military technology, the wall was entirely outdated as a defence system, and city organization virtualized into complex series of street furniture.
In spite of the strong necessity of progress, a traumatic process started when the referent of the wall was blown up, creating a grave imbalance into citizens’ perception of their city. Under the influence of romantic tendencies, some politicians started overdoing the use of warnings about the importance of preserving the walls as a key piece into urban heritage, even though most of them were mainly worried about how to restore security. Yet besides this, the urban sprawl continued and there were some problems which needed to be tackled, such as how to start a new system of mobility devices according to modern urban schemes.
Not only in the cities where the walls were safeguarded (Ávila, Rome), but also in those where the defensive complex was torn down (Barcelona, Havana, Vienna), population had to metabolize a series of events tightly related to the indelible trace the monument had left into the urban fabric. From the enhancement of this defensive fossil as public, environmentally friendly space to the attempt to create an historical city center –highly profitable, bitterly criticize-, we will go along all this current urban controversies that were generated at the beginning of the Modern Age in the colonial city of Havana.
Contrary to what one may assume by its title, this dissertation has no intention of proving Havan... more Contrary to what one may assume by its title, this dissertation has no intention of proving Havana´s modernity. At least not via the traditional parameters that have been applied to nineteenth-century capitals such as Paris, Berlin, London or New York. Not only does nineteenth-century Havana respond to the scholarly measures of progress, circulation and traction in a very peculiar way, but also presents unknown solutions that require brand new approaches to the problem of modernity. In this sense the major contribution of this work might be the unsolved issues that it raises: the need to broaden our perception of modernity itself, to reformulate the urban semiotics of the Nineteenth-Century and, finally, the need to overcome the prevailing trend by a deeper comprehension of the reasons that have led to the scholarship to perpetuate it. If the example of Havana is able to make the slightest contribution to unsettle these notions and manages to outline some alternative paths to a more integral approach to urban modernity, I would very much be satisfied with the results of the research.
From Colonies to Countries in the North Caribbean: Military Engineers
in the Development of Citie... more From Colonies to Countries in the North Caribbean: Military Engineers in the Development of Cities and Territories, pp. 125-138
Edited by Pedro Luengo-Gutiérrez and Gene A. Smith
El 30 de diciembre de 1817 Fernando VII solicitó un expediente sobre la expansión extramuros de L... more El 30 de diciembre de 1817 Fernando VII solicitó un expediente sobre la expansión extramuros de La Habana, manifestando su preocupación sobre las repercusiones a largo plazo que ésta podía tener en las condiciones defensivas de la ciudad. Para satisfacer esta demanda, más de un centenar de cartas fueron intercambiadas entre el capitán general de la isla José Cienfuegos y el director del cuerpo de ingenieros, Antonio Ventura Bocarro. Una trepidante secuencia epistolar que finalizó dos años después, el 19 de diciembre de 1819, cuando el ingeniero Antonio María de la Torre presentó el famoso plano de La Habana y sus barrios extramuros. A través de éste y otros documentos analizaremos el origen de un profundo debate que se produjo entre la identidad militar de la plaza y su desarrollo como uno de los núcleos urbanos más cualificados del siglo XIX.
***AUTHOR'S NOTE***: This chapter is based in a previous paper from 2015.To see the full chapter, please, go to: Perspectivas actuales, horizontes insólitos. Dinámicas y aportaciones teóricas en Historia del Arte (2018). Madrid: Aguja de Palacio Ediciones, pp. 453-474.
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Hence, the dominant class leisure became a key element in the new Cuban identity and an apparent solution to all of its contradictions: Slavery, Abolition, Independence, Anexionism, Race, Genre; but also deeply determined the layout of the city of Havana during the Nineteenth-Century, as we can see from an extensive catalogue of the leisure venues between 1844 and 1868. Finally, while seeking a modern identity and developing a leisure culture that matched this transformation, it is possible to track the emergence of a series of visual policies embodying the whole ongoing process. This new image revealed Havana’s particular way of relating to modernity and capitalism, a narrative originated in the foreign vision and based on the reduction of the otherness into a consumption formula, which Cuba would eventually incorporate as a key feature of its national imaginary.
Although both statistics and claims of the local authorities and intellectuals proved this reality to a certain degree, some of these foreign visions, especially those coming from the American visitors, had a deeper scope than mere description. Through a patronizing discourse, these Sodom-and-Gomorrah-scenarios of Havana were constantly repeated and broadcasted during the 1850’s as a way to support the annexationist movement against Spanish administration.
Within this type of literature we become witnesses of knife crime scenes, lottery games, secret hand fan codes, hypersexualized mulatas, cock fighting, and church flirting. I argue that a biased subtext can also be found. A background that influenced the city’s collective imaginary and the way it portrayed itself in the visual media and tour-guides of the period. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to present some highlights of these urban narratives and to explore the extent to which they shaped the layout of the emerging metropolis
During the Ancien Régime the wall became one of the principal ways for the absolute monarchy to show and emphasize its power. Until the end of 18th century there was no civilization without city, and there was no city without its fortified wall. This means that both human and civil space where defined by the ramparts. In addition to this fact, the walls had such a remarkable aesthetic component –based on architectonic, technological and artistic values-, complemented by its ethical dimension -social harmony, taxes, prophylactic measures.
Starting 19th century, the urban drift from the country to the city precipitated an overcrowding process into the historical towns, and so a lot of areas outside the wall limits started being urbanised. Concerning military technology, the wall was entirely outdated as a defence system, and city organization virtualized into complex series of street furniture.
In spite of the strong necessity of progress, a traumatic process started when the referent of the wall was blown up, creating a grave imbalance into citizens’ perception of their city. Under the influence of romantic tendencies, some politicians started overdoing the use of warnings about the importance of preserving the walls as a key piece into urban heritage, even though most of them were mainly worried about how to restore security. Yet besides this, the urban sprawl continued and there were some problems which needed to be tackled, such as how to start a new system of mobility devices according to modern urban schemes.
Not only in the cities where the walls were safeguarded (Ávila, Rome), but also in those where the defensive complex was torn down (Barcelona, Havana, Vienna), population had to metabolize a series of events tightly related to the indelible trace the monument had left into the urban fabric. From the enhancement of this defensive fossil as public, environmentally friendly space to the attempt to create an historical city center –highly profitable, bitterly criticize-, we will go along all this current urban controversies that were generated at the beginning of the Modern Age in the colonial city of Havana.
Hence, the dominant class leisure became a key element in the new Cuban identity and an apparent solution to all of its contradictions: Slavery, Abolition, Independence, Anexionism, Race, Genre; but also deeply determined the layout of the city of Havana during the Nineteenth-Century, as we can see from an extensive catalogue of the leisure venues between 1844 and 1868. Finally, while seeking a modern identity and developing a leisure culture that matched this transformation, it is possible to track the emergence of a series of visual policies embodying the whole ongoing process. This new image revealed Havana’s particular way of relating to modernity and capitalism, a narrative originated in the foreign vision and based on the reduction of the otherness into a consumption formula, which Cuba would eventually incorporate as a key feature of its national imaginary.
Although both statistics and claims of the local authorities and intellectuals proved this reality to a certain degree, some of these foreign visions, especially those coming from the American visitors, had a deeper scope than mere description. Through a patronizing discourse, these Sodom-and-Gomorrah-scenarios of Havana were constantly repeated and broadcasted during the 1850’s as a way to support the annexationist movement against Spanish administration.
Within this type of literature we become witnesses of knife crime scenes, lottery games, secret hand fan codes, hypersexualized mulatas, cock fighting, and church flirting. I argue that a biased subtext can also be found. A background that influenced the city’s collective imaginary and the way it portrayed itself in the visual media and tour-guides of the period. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to present some highlights of these urban narratives and to explore the extent to which they shaped the layout of the emerging metropolis
During the Ancien Régime the wall became one of the principal ways for the absolute monarchy to show and emphasize its power. Until the end of 18th century there was no civilization without city, and there was no city without its fortified wall. This means that both human and civil space where defined by the ramparts. In addition to this fact, the walls had such a remarkable aesthetic component –based on architectonic, technological and artistic values-, complemented by its ethical dimension -social harmony, taxes, prophylactic measures.
Starting 19th century, the urban drift from the country to the city precipitated an overcrowding process into the historical towns, and so a lot of areas outside the wall limits started being urbanised. Concerning military technology, the wall was entirely outdated as a defence system, and city organization virtualized into complex series of street furniture.
In spite of the strong necessity of progress, a traumatic process started when the referent of the wall was blown up, creating a grave imbalance into citizens’ perception of their city. Under the influence of romantic tendencies, some politicians started overdoing the use of warnings about the importance of preserving the walls as a key piece into urban heritage, even though most of them were mainly worried about how to restore security. Yet besides this, the urban sprawl continued and there were some problems which needed to be tackled, such as how to start a new system of mobility devices according to modern urban schemes.
Not only in the cities where the walls were safeguarded (Ávila, Rome), but also in those where the defensive complex was torn down (Barcelona, Havana, Vienna), population had to metabolize a series of events tightly related to the indelible trace the monument had left into the urban fabric. From the enhancement of this defensive fossil as public, environmentally friendly space to the attempt to create an historical city center –highly profitable, bitterly criticize-, we will go along all this current urban controversies that were generated at the beginning of the Modern Age in the colonial city of Havana.
in the Development of Cities and Territories, pp. 125-138
Edited by Pedro Luengo-Gutiérrez and Gene A. Smith
Cambridge Scholar Publishing, 2015
***AUTHOR'S NOTE***: This chapter is based in a previous paper from 2015.To see the full chapter, please, go to: Perspectivas actuales, horizontes insólitos. Dinámicas y aportaciones teóricas en Historia del Arte (2018). Madrid: Aguja de Palacio Ediciones, pp. 453-474.