World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Cristina García

クリスティーナ・ガルシア

Cristina García

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1958-07-04 （Havana, Cuba）
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Residence History
New York (Queens, Brooklyn Heights) → Napa, California (reported move around 2006)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Playwright, Journalist, Professor
Active Years
1981-
Affiliations
UCLA, UC Riverside, Mills College, University of San Francisco, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University of Texas at Austin, Texas State University-San Marcos (University Chair in Creative Writing 2012–2014)
Memberships
Editorial advisory board of Chiricú Journal: Latina/o Literatures, Arts, and Cultures
Influenced By
Pablo Neruda (example influence), Cuban and Latin American writers
Influenced
Junot Díaz (example of writers in the same Latino literary conversation), Giannina Braschi

Education

Barnard College
Political Science
Degree: 学士（政治学） / B.A. in Political Science
Period: 1975–1979
Year of Graduation: 1979
Country: United States
Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
International Relations
Degree: 修士（国際関係） / M.A. in International Relations
Period: 1980–1981
Year of Graduation: 1981
Country: United States

Awards

National Book Award (finalist)
1992
Work: Dreaming in Cuban
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 最終候補
Guggenheim Fellowship
1994
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Whiting Writers Award
1996
Organization: Whiting Foundation
Result: 受賞
Janet Heidiger Kafka Prize
1997
Work: The Agüero Sisters
Organization: Janet Heidiger Kafka Prize (organization details unclear)
Result: 受賞
Northern California Book Award (Fiction)
2008
Work: A Handbook to Luck
Category: フィクション
Organization: Northern California Book Awards
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Dreaming in Cuban

1992 Novel (polyphonic narrative) 320 pages

A multivocal novel that follows a Cuban exile family, exploring memory, exile, and intergenerational conflict.

ExileFamilyMemoryCultural identity
Adaptations
  • [Play] Dreaming in Cuban (stage adaptation) (2022)

The Agüero Sisters

1997 Novel 288 pages

Through the perspectives of three sisters, the novel examines family history and identity amid migration and memory.

FamilyMemoryFeminine perspectives

Monkey Hunting

2003 Novel 416 pages

An expansive novel spanning Chinese migration, Cuba, and the United States, tracing lives across generations and borders.

MigrationLabor historyCultural intersections

A Handbook to Luck

2007 Novel 352 pages

A novel that weaves together tales of luck and survival against the backdrop of Central American conflict and immigrant life in the U.S.

FateViolenceSurvival

The Lady Matador's Hotel

2010 Novel 320 pages

A darkly humorous novel set in South America that explores women, power, revenge, and transformation.

PowerWomenRevenge
Adaptations
  • [Play] The Lady Matador's Hotel (stage adaptation) (2019)

King of Cuba

2013 Novel (dark comedy) 304 pages

A satirical portrait of power and decline, featuring a fictionalized Fidel Castro and a chorus of Cuban exiles.

Political satireDecline of powerIdentity
Adaptations
  • [Play] King of Cuba (stage adaptation) (2018)

Here in Berlin

2017 Novel 352 pages

Set in Berlin, the novel explores mobility, encounters, and fragmented personal histories in the contemporary world.

MobilityEncountersFragmented memory

Vanishing Maps

2023 Novel 320 pages

A recent novel that probes memory, maps, and vanishing presences through multiple perspectives on identity.

MemoryLossMaps

Bibliography

  • Dreaming in Cuban (1992)
  • Cars of Cuba (essay, 1995)
  • The Agüero Sisters (1997)
  • Monkey Hunting (2003)
  • Cubanisimo! (editor and introduction, 2003)
  • Bordering Fires (editor and introduction, 2006)
  • A Handbook to Luck (2007)
  • The Lady Matador's Hotel (2010)
  • King of Cuba (2013)
  • Here in Berlin (2017)
  • Vanishing Maps (2023)

Adaptations

  • Dreaming in Cuban (stage adaptation, 2022)
  • King of Cuba (stage adaptation, 2018)
  • The Lady Matador's Hotel (stage adaptation, 2019)
  • The Palacios Sisters (2023, stage inspired by Chekhov's 'Three Sisters')

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Polyphonic narrative (multiple perspectives)Elements of magical realismA style emphasizing immigrant memory and intergenerational storytelling
Recurring Motifs
Trees (e.g., ceiba as symbol)Exile and belongingFamily history

Legacy

Cristina García is known for her multivocal portrayals of Cuban-American experience and exile. With recognition such as the National Book Award finalist placement for Dreaming in Cuban, she is regarded as an important voice in Latino American literature.

Quotes

  • “In Afro-Cuban culture, the ceiba tree is also sacred, a kind of maternal, healing figure to which offerings are made, petitions placed. So absolutely, for me trees do represent a crossroads, an opportunity for redemption and change.”
    Source: Interview (Bomb magazine, circa 2007) (2007)

Trivia

  • Born in Havana in 1958; her family fled Cuba in 1961 and settled in the United States.
  • Her debut novel Dreaming in Cuban (1992) was a finalist for the National Book Award.
  • She has taught creative writing at multiple universities across the U.S.
  • Recipient of a 1994 Guggenheim Fellowship and the 1996 Whiting Writers Award.