Paper short abstract:

The paper examines the (re)production of gendered and racialized bodies in the dance world, looking at construction and performance of masculinity in Cuban dance venues and the symbolic implications of the transnational dissemination of Cuban dance styles and ideas around male bodies.

Paper long abstract:

Over the years, the transnational circulation of Cuban dance forms brought along not only the codification and commercialization of distinct units of steps for the purpose of competitive and social dancing but also powerful ideas of racialized and gendered bodies that materialize in performance. Dance floors naturalized ideas of masculinity rooted in the image of Cuban culture characterized by a deep machismo which celebrates male virility, aggressiveness and fearlessness. Dance schools, competitions and salsa congresses in Europe perpetuate representations of masculinity embedded in colonial paradigms, relying on clearly demarcated rules for gender performance.

At the same time, in Cuba, the economic realities and social inequalities that stem from contact with foreigners, have resulted in the development of creative approaches for financial gain, inscribing the male body in a broader rhetoric of Caribbean bodies for sale. Young Cuban men use their dance skills and seduction strategies to create and perpetuate expectations about Cuban fantasies. The phenomenon is strongly marked racially: many of the dark skinned Cubans do not have other type of access to foreign currency (legal jobs in the tourist industry) but at the same time seem to be capable of exploiting one of the few advantages of their skin color - the appearance of "authenticity" in the spaces commonly associated with blackness.

The paper is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted over several months, from 2011 to 2015, in the western provinces of Cuba and during dance competitions and congresses in Europe.