Our Lady of the Exile: Diasporic Religion at a Cuban Catholic Shrine in Miami

by Thomas A. Tweed

Our Lady of the Exile is a study of Cuban-American popular Catholicism, focusing on the shrine of Our Lady Charity in Miami. Drawing on a wide range of sources and using both historical and ethnographic methods, the book examines the religious life of the Cuban exiles who visit the shrine. Those pilgrims are diverse, and so are the motives that bring them. At the same time, author Thomas A. Tweed argues, Cuban devotees of the national patroness share a great deal. Most come to pray for their homeland and to recreate bonds with other Cubans, on the island and in the diaspora. The shrine is a place where they come to make sense of themselves as an exiled people. The religious symbols there link the past and present and bridge the homeland and the new land. Through rituals and artifacts at the shrine, Tweed suggests, the Cuban diaspora "imaginatively constructs its collective identity and transports itself to the Cuba of memory and desire."

While the book focuses on Cuban exiles in Miami, it moves beyond case study as it explores larger issues concerning religion, identity, and place. How do migrants relate to heir homeland? How do they understand themselves after they have been displaced? What role does religion play among these diasporic groups? Building on this study of one exiled group, Tweed proposes a theory of diasporic religion that promises to illuminate the experiences of other groups that have been displaced from their native land.

As the first book-length analysis of Cuban-American Catholicism, Tweed's book will be an invaluable resource to scholars and students of not only Religious Studies, American Studies, and Ethnic Studies, but also those who study cultural anthropology, human geography, and Latin American history.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Jose]

As A Cuban Catholic myself(My parents came in 1967 and 1980)who was born In Miami, And Raised here, Raised Roman Catholic, This book already Establishes alot of what I already Knew and Love. My Patria, My Religion,Mi Cubanidad, I grew up going to La Ermita Del La Caridad And Still do,I was born next door to it(Mercy Hospital) and my Uncle Attended La Salle.These are my roots. I disagree with some of the author's ill conceived ideas such as Pre 1959 Cuba, About Racism in Cuba, the book other than that gives others (non Cubans) what We already have experienced without Anti-Cuban Rhetoric which We are used to From Anglos and Non-Cubans,Liberals, And Anti-Catholics.The book also shows the major differences between Catholicism and Santeria which True Catholics Should Not Dabble With. La Virgencita "Cachita" will see to it that Cuba Once again will be Free From Tyranny, and all Cubans Being United, She intercedes for us,As We Petition for Health,And Family Matters.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was skeptical about the premise at first, but Tweed is so thorough in his research and theoretically sound that this book was a pleasure to read. He proves, from nearly a decade of research, that Cubans used this shrine in Miami not only for religious reasons, but also to make sense of their own existence as displaced people in search of a nation.

[versarbre · Rating 5 out of 5]

When historians of religions take ethnography seriously, they can be much better at this than the anthropologists!

[Julianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's rare that I develop strong feelings toward a very academic book, but Tweeds study of diasporic religion at the shrine to Our Lady of Charity in Miami was incredibly compelling.