Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: nineteenth-century costumbrista writers on the slave trade and on black traditions in Cuba -- Cuban costumbrista portraits of slaves in sugarmills: essays by Anselmo Su�arez y Romero -- Juan Francisco Manzano's autobiograf�ia de un esclavo: self-characterization of an urban mulato -- Fino slave -- Urban slaves and freed blacks: black women's objectification and erotic taboos -- The costumbristas' views of manly black males: uppity blacks and thugs -- Depictions of the horrific "unseen": Cuban Creole religious practices -- Conclusion. Costumbrista essays on blacks: nineteenth-century preconceived notions of civility.

A broad examination of representations of Afro-Cuban religious themes in literature and popular arts, focusing on white authors of Costumbrismo literature represented black culture.

Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2011. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.