New Exhibit: Sacred Roots: Earthly Memories: Lydia Cabrera's Legacy, Diaspora and Community

Special Collections and University Archives is delighted to present the exhibition Sacred Roots: Earthly Memories: Lydia Cabrera's Legacy, Diaspora and Community. The exhibition is on display in Gallery '50 on the first floor of the Alexander Library until December 15, 2023. 

Lydia Cabrera (1899-1991) was one of the 20th century's leading writers on Cuban folklore and an internationally known chronicler of Afro-Cuban culture and religion. Her papers, entrusted to the Cuban Heritage Collection, University of Miami Libraries, contain ethnographic field notes and artwork, manuscripts, photographs, objects, and correspondence with some of the leading ethnographers, writers, and artists of the time. The exhibition features facsimiles from her collection, original artwork inspired by her legacy, and examples of her many published works. The exhibition particularly focuses on her seminar work El Monte (1954), the culmination of years of fieldwork, which encapsulates essential wisdom and traditions for Cuba's future.

The exhibition was curated by ACLS Emerging Voices Postdoctoral Fellow Alberto Sosa-Cabanas of the Department of English, Maria de Lourdes Mariño, and Michel Mendoza, with the participation of artists Juan Carlos Alom, Marta Maria Pérez Bravo, Geandy Pavón, Gigi de la Torre, Javier Castro, and Laura Capote Mercadal.

For more information on the exhibit, please see this article in Rialta Magazine.