Exiled Memoirs And Raining Backwards: A Comparative Analysis

Memory cannot live without nostalgia, the trading of dirty truths for gilded memories of a time and place no longer accessible. Both Exiled Memoirs and Raining Backwards explore the relationship between memory and nostalgia. In both texts memory is used as a tool to reaffirm the Cuban exile identity outside of Cuba. Retelling stories becomes a way in which the characters’ fight against assimilation in the United States. As time goes on and the memories begin to fade, places like Varadero beach become romanticized with the purpose of keeping the memories of Cuba alive. Although both texts seem to follow a “Desi-Chain” of events, the ways in which memories are used in each text differs greatly challenging conceptions that all Cuban exile experiences are the same. Pablo Medina’s Exiled Memoirs articulates a serious tone, narrating stories about his childhood, family and the struggle of being a Cuban

His relatives do not tell him about their past on the island, instead he must perform favors for his neighbor, Mirta in exchange for stories about Cuba. This demonstrates the desire Eloy has to reconnect with that part of his identity. Mirta is the prominent example of someone who romanticizes memory as a way to keep living. Mirta says “In the chapter called "Retrieving Varadero" Mirta recreates the famous Cuban beach in her bathroom. She remains convinced that she can go back to Cuba and that nostalgia is what fuels her fantasies and exaggerated memories. These memories shape the way in which Eloy views Cuba. He begins to yearn for an idealized version of the island, where life starts and ends on the beach. This is not the reality for many Cubans or Cuban exiles that had to forcefully flee from political and economic oppression. Framing memories this way leads to a gilded nostalgia, yearning for a life in Cuba that has been