Cuba No; Miami Sí: Cuban Americans Coping with Ambiguous Loss

Document Type

Article

Keywords

Ambiguous loss of homeland, Cuban American exiles, nostalgia, phenomenology

Disciplines

Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social Work

Abstract

This study explores the lifelong loss that Cuban émigrés experienced after leaving Cuba following the 1959 revolution. Many left thinking they would remain in exile for a brief period, but a return no longer seems possible. Nevertheless, their attachment to the lost homeland persists. The annual Cuba Nostalgia event at the Miami Expo Center attests to this enduring sense of attachment. Employing a phenomenological framework, we interviewed 10 older attendees who left Cuba between 1959 and 1979. Themes that emerged from the interviews are consistent with ambiguous loss theory and also reveal positive coping skills and resilience.

Article Number

1006

Publication Date

2015

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