Remaking a Lost Harmony: Stories from the Hispanic Caribbean.

• Author: Mujica, Barbara

The "lost harmony" that the editors of this fine new anthology seek to retrieve is the quintessentially Antillean element that binds together the areas of the Hispanic Caribbean: Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Thrown off by the political realities that separate these areas - one a socialist dictatorship dependent until recently on the former Soviet Union, one a struggling democracy, and one a commonwealth of the United States - critics have often overlooked their shared cultural heritage. Products of Spanish colonialism, these areas are, of course, connected with all the rest of Spanish America by language, religion, and custom, but they are joined to each other by circumstances particular to the Caribbean: geography; plantation lifestyles and economies; a strong African presence; a history of slavery, violence, and massive migrations; and ambivalent yet close relationships with the United States.

Remaking a Lost Harmony makes amply clear the cultural cohesion of the Hispanic Caribbean. Although the book contains a variety of stories by writers of diverse interests, orientations, and styles, recurring themes highlight certain cultural links. African influence is prominent in several of the stories. The pulsating rhythms of the rumba, the drums and the chants of Ay Bacumbe create the backdrop for a rape in Luis Rafael Sanchez's powerful "Black Alleluia." More than any other in the collection, this story underscores the complexities of racial relationships in the region by focusing on tensions between dark-skinned blacks and mulattoes. One of Puerto Rico's most highly respected writers, Sanchez creates an atmosphere of raw sensuality that leaves the reader reeling. In "Lulu or the Metamorphosis," by Dominican writer Jose Alcantara Almanzar, race is only one of the factors that alienates the protagonist, a candy vendor who lives to dance the rumba at Carnival. In her decision not to dress up as a sassy Spaniard or a little Dutch girl for the upcoming celebration, because "who has ever heard . . . of black Europeans," Lulu shows a pride in her own physical attributes, and in her decision to dress as a woman, the transvestite reveals an acceptance of her own sexuality. As the author describes Lulu's dressing process step-by-minute step, the character metamorphoses before our eyes. Yet, the disguise cannot conceal the real pain in Lulu's heart as she remembers the taunts of neighborhood bullies, the rejection of her lover Ciro...