Abakuás in Cuban crime fiction

Abstract

This contribution carries out a review of the presence of the Abakuá society in Cuban literature and cinema linked to crime fiction. This literary genre was acquiring consistency within Cuban literature during 20th century and it has become one of the hallmarks of the current Cuban narrative. Thus, and starting from the analysis of the cases of the film La hija del policía o Entre los ñáñigos [1917] and of the novel Fantoches 1926, attention is also paid to the 1967 short-stories book ¼ fambá and 19 stories more, by writer Gerardo del Valle (1898-1973). It is thus appreciated the evolution in the treatment of the Abakuá characters in the different chronological moments, especially in relation to their connection with crime and violence.