Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings

Part 1 establishes Cuba as a symbol of dreams, expression, and freedom through the motif of Enchanted Air, Wings, and Flight. The motif develops more fully within the theme Pastoral Imagery and Magical Nature in Part 2. These poems represent an especially nostalgic period of the author’s childhood.

Part 1, “Four Years Before I Existed,” is the story of how the author’s parents meet, a meeting that highlights the juxtaposition between the American and Cuban language and cultures, underscored by the theme Cultural Dichotomy and Belonging. The poem’s second stanza explains that they spoke different languages and “communicated by passing drawings back and forth, like children / in the back of a classroom” (Lines 12-13). This imagery fits within the motif of Storytelling and Poetry and foreshadows the isolation the narrator describes while attending school in America. The final stanza describes her American father’s proposal as well as her Cuban mother’s response. Her mother’s response breaks Cuban tradition and is her mother’s first act of bravery. The act also establishes Courage and Bravery as another of four important motifs in the memoir.

Engle uses the story of love at first sight as a metaphor to illustrate the importance of Cuba within her childhood. “Four Years Before I Existed” alludes to Poem 3 in Part 2, “More Love at First Sight,” further reinforcing the importance of perspective to understanding the structure of the narrative.

Part 2 describes the events of the author’s life just before and after the civil war in Cuba, reinforcing the significance of Cuba as a symbol to the author. It describes the increasing hostilities between America and Cuba and the author’s growing disillusionment as her heritage, family, and beloved island are regarded with suspicion and distrust at home in America, figuring heavily in development of the Cultural Dichotomy and Belonging theme. Home becomes a place of oppression while Cuba is further idealized.

The author introduces the concept of linguistic dichotomies just before her return to the US in “No Place on the Map.” In the first stanza, the narrator notes how the return to California splits her identity into “two-selves” (11), which she divides culturally as her “Mami’s island” and “Dad’s continent” (11). In the second stanza, she looks for Cuba on a map, describing the island as “crocodile-shaped” before describing what the maps hide, “the beautiful farm / on that crocodile’s belly” (11). The image of the crocodile further reinforces the duality between American and Cuban culture while transitioning to the concept of perspective. To Americans, the crocodile-shape is threatening, while the author finds romanticized visions of the natural world upon the weak underside or non-threatening belly of the crocodile. In the third stanza, the narrator describes feeling caught between the two cultures. The final stanza illustrates the impact of this duality, where the author is sometimes a bridge and sometimes a storm, an image of connection preceding an image of chaos.

“Different” and “Horse Crazy” are important poems that develop the character of the author/narrator by demonstrating aspects of isolation, sensitivity, and creativity. In “Different,” the author describes her intelligence and notes that “there is only one place where [she] can / truly belong, this endless stack / of blank pages in [her] mind, / an empty world / where [she] scribbles / more and more poems” (32). While her intelligence isolates her at school, her creativity provides a refuge from the isolation she feels. In “Horse Crazy,” the narrator demonstrates that the isolation is also something she experiences at home as well. She begins the poem, which expresses her desire for horseback riding lessons, by noting, “Dad and Mami say that what I want / doesn’t make sense—not when we live / in a busy city like Los Angeles” (34). This foregrounds the wonder the narrator feels in nature, an aspect of characterization linked more to her personal preferences rather than family or heritage. She links this appreciation for nature to her writing once more in the final stanza: “So I ride in my daydreams. / I gallop. / I fly!” (34). This reinforces horses as a symbol for freedom of expression by comparing her galloping daydreams to flight, a comparison that recurs in Part 3.

“Homecoming” and “News” are sociohistorical references to the political unrest in Cuba. “News” juxtaposes “flying / through the enchanted air” of Cuba with the second stanza of the poem (41): “Revolution. / Violence. / Gunfire. / Danger” (41). The single-word sentences and punctuation all contribute to the starkness of the stanza in comparison with the rest of the poem, and highlight these words as a new and unexpected association with the idealized vision of Cuba the author has developed. She concludes this sociohistorical context with a final question about whether her Mami’s cousins are killing each other, suggesting another element of the civil war in Cuba.

“What Am I?” connects to Cultural Dichotomy and Belonging, as the narrator is isolated by her peers at school because of her Cuban ancestry. The structure of the poem foreshadows the narrative build of the next few poems that represent the American response to the Cuban Revolution. The first two stanzas represent the narrator’s observations of growing fear and resentment, while the third stanza references the American perspective of the historical role of the US in Cuba when the narrator’s teacher tells her, “WE WERE LIKE SANTA CLAUS / ON THAT POOR LITTLE ISLAND” (43), using all-caps to demonstrate the impact of the adult accusation against a child. The author ends the stanza by recalling the teacher’s complaint of “SUCH INGRATITUDE” (43). The final stanza begins with the statement: “Clearly, it’s an accusation” (43). The narrator describes her confusion and guilt in response to this accusation.

Abuelita’s departure represents the end of the period of refuge the author recalls, and Part 2 concludes with “Realidad/Reality,” the introduction to a new period of the author’s life. It describes the insecurities that arise when the author’s romanticized view of Cuba is challenged by a visit to the island after the Cuban Revolution while political tensions between America and Cuba continue to mount. This poem is the first of several poems that use bi-lingual titles, calling attention to a growing sense of division within the theme Cultural Dichotomy and Belonging. The title also alludes to the author’s less idealized understanding of Cuba, though she maintains that her hope stems from nature as well as poems and travel stories, in a reference to the most important concepts and symbols within the major themes and motifs of the memoir.