Towards a performativity of Afro-Cuban culture: music and religion in the narrative of Lydia Cabrera

The present article considers the narrative of Lydia Cabrera (La Habana 1900-Miami1991) from the point of view of the generic hybridization that her double work aspect ‒literary and ethno-logical ones‒ produces. In particular, the analysis will focus on the appropriation of Afro-Cuban music and the Yoruba religion by literary creation; the fertile interaction produced by this pro-cess mobilizes narrative prose and highlights its performative aspect. It will be token into account short stories that belong to the volumes Cuentos negros de Cuba (1940), Por qué…cuentos negros de Cuba (1948) y Ayapá: cuentos de Jicotea (1971).