Intercultural relations and transculturation in Cristina García’s Monkey Hunting

Abstract

This article applies the critical approach to intercultural relations proposed by Rona Halualani to analyze transculturation in the novel Monkey Hunting (2003) by Cuban-American writer Cristina García. Starting from the idea that the interaction between cultures is multidirectional and mediated by power relations – especially ethnicity and social class – the study examines the cultural exchanges, adaptation processes, and sociocultural transformations that occurred in Cuba from the second half of the 19th century to much of the 20th century, as described in García’s text. Thus, by following four generations of a Chinese-Afro-Cuban family descended from a Chinese worker and a formerly enslaved woman, the reading highlights the dynamics and complexity of transculturation in the Hispanic Caribbean and its central role in shaping Cuban culture.