<DIV><p><I>Nationalizing Blackness</I> uses the music of the 1920s and 1930s to examine Cuban society as it begins to embrace Afrocuban culture.  Moore examines the public debate over “degenerate Africanisms” associated with <I>comparas</I> or carnival bands; similar controversies associated with <I>son</I> music; the history of blackface theater shows; the rise of afrocubanismo in the context of anti-imperialist nationalism and revolution against Gerardo Machado; the history of cabaret rumba; an overview of poetry, painting, and music inspired by Afrocuban street culture; and reactions of the black Cuban middle classes to <I>afrocubanismo</I>.  He has collected numerous illustrations of early twentieth-century performers in Havana, many included in this book.</p><p><I>Nationalizing Blackness</I> represents one of the first politicized studies of twentieth-century culture in Cuba.  It demonstrates how music can function as the center of racial and cultural conflict during the formation of a national identity.</p></DIV>