Dr. Natália Schmiedecke

Cultural Cold War and South-South Solidarity:
Tricontinentalism in the Cuban Poster Art

 Keywords:

• Cuban Poster Art and the creation of world order narratives
• Social activism through art
• South-South solidarity
• Cold War in Latin America

My current research project focuses on the Cuban Poster Art during and after the Cold War, specifically on the “Tricontinentalist” discourse conveyed by the posters produced by the Organization of Solidarity with the People of Asia, Africa, and Latin America (OSPAAAL).

Founded in Havana during the Tricontinental Conference in 1966, the OSPAAAL assigned itself the mission of supporting and coordinating revolutionary organizations worldwide. During its 53 years of existence, it defined various strategies to carry out political solidarity and support anti-imperialist and socialist movements. Among these strategies, the production and dissemination of information and propaganda materials stands out, specifically, the Tricontinental bulletin, the Tricontinental magazine, the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) Newsreel, besides radio programs and books.

Between 1967-1990 and 1995-2019, the OSPAAAL published the magazine Tricontinental in Spanish, English, and, for some periods, also in Arabic, French and Italian. The magazine was distributed along with posters which were translated into different languages and the OSPAAAL also created posters to publicize the ICAIC films. By 1981, an estimated 9 million OSPAAAL posters were produced and distributed in 60 countries. Covering a wide range of styles and themes, they communicated complex concepts – such as inequality, racism, and economic exploitation – through a visual language. In this way, the posters questioned hegemonic narratives of the global order and spread counter-narratives centered on the defense of the liberation of the so-called Third World, a concept that they contributed to shape.

Since Latin America and Africa were the most represented regions in the OSPAAAL posters, my research seeks to answer the following questions: What notions of race, community and development were promoted by Cuban Poster Art during the Cold War? What textual and visual strategies were used in order to cross borders and generate empathy on international issues? Were there differences in the material dedicated to Latin American and to African processes? To what extent did the discourse present in the OSPAAAL posters reinforce the principles of the Cuban foreign policy? What changes took place after 1990?

The research also investigates the relationships between the concepts of “Third World” and “The Global South”, drawing attention to the important contribution of Latin American intellectuals in the debates on interdependent inequalities and geopolitics of knowledge.

Academic Training 

2013 – 2017
PhD in History, São Paulo State University, Brazil
Dissertation: “Nuestra mejor contribución la hacemos cantando”: a Nova Canção Chilena e a “questão cultural” no Chile da Unidade Popular [“We Make our Best Contribution by Singing:” Chilean New Song and the “Question of Culture” in Popular Unity’s Chile]

2011 – 2013
MA in History, São Paulo State University, Brazil
Thesis: “Tomemos la historia en nuestras manos”: utopia revolucionária e música popular no Chile (1966-1973) [“Let's Take History in Our Hands:” Revolutionary Utopia and Popular Music in Chile (1966-1973)]

2006 – 2010
BA in History, University of Campinas, Brazil
Thesis: Povo e folclore: bandeiras da Nova Canção Chilena na música de Víctor Jara (1966-1973) [The People and Folklore: Flags of the Chilean New Song in the Music of Víctor Jara (1966-1973)]

Academic Career 

2021-
Research Associate – Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, University of Hamburg, Germany. Member of the Research Project “World Order Narratives of the Global South” (WONAGO).

2018-2021
Postdoctoral Researcher – Department of History, Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences, University of Campinas, Brazil. Research Project: “Cultura e socialismo: entre a Revolução Cubana e a via chilena (1970-1973).”

2019-2020
Visiting Researcher – Ibero-American Institute, Berlin, Germany.

2018-2020
Editorial Board Member, Revista Eletrônica da ANPHLAC (ISSN: 1679-1061).

2019
Lecturer (Postdoc), Seminar “A Revolução Cubana e a Via Chilena ao Socialismo: Cultura e Política’” – Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences, University of Campinas, Brazil.

2018
 Lecturer (Postdoc), Seminar “Ênfase em Patrimônio Histórico e Cultural II: Políticas Culturais na América Latina” – Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences, University of Campinas, Brazil.

2016-2018
Lecturer – Center of Research of the Social Service of the Commerce (SESC), São Paulo, Brazil.

2015-2016
 Visiting Researcher – University of Helsinki, Finland.

2013-2014
Editor, História e Cultura journal (ISSN: 2238-6270).

2013
Assistant Professor, History of Latin America III (20th century) – Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, São Paulo State University, Brazil.

2010
Teaching Assistant, History of Latin America II (20th century) – Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences, University of Campinas, Brazil.

2009-2010
Assistant, Historical Collection Cataloging Project – Campinas Museum, Brazil.

Books:

Políticas Culturais na América Latina: Entre Conflitos e Negociações. São Paulo: Editora Unifesp, 2023. Co-authored with Mariana Villaça and Tânia Garcia (Editors).

Chilean New Song and the Question of Culture in the Allende Government: Voices for a Revolution. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2022.

“Não há revolução sem canções:” utopia revolucionária e música popular no Chile, 1966-1973. São Paulo: Alameda, 2015.

Book Chapters:

"Condiciones de existencia y rol de la prensa de izquierda independiente en Chile: la revista Punto Final en(tre) dos épocas". In: Crespo, R.; Guerra González, J. Revistas, blogs y portales latinoamericanos (1960-2020). Rupturas y transformaciones en el tránsito de lo impreso a lo digital. Mexico City: CIALC/UNAM, 2023: 149-175.

"Lo Que Hay y lo Que Falta": O Debate sobre Políticas Culturais na Revista Chilena La Quinta Rueda (1972-1973). In: Villaça, V.; Schmiedecke, N.; Garcia, T. (Ed.). Políticas Culturais na América Latina: Entre Conflitos e Negociações. São Paulo: Unifesp, 2023: 265-284.

Hacer del arte un arma colectiva: los encuentros latinoamericanos de artes plásticas de 1972 y 1973. In: Devés, E.; Silva, F.; Baltar, P. Diálogos Sur-Sur Reflexiones sobre el Sur, las desigualdades epistémicas y la democratización global de los saberes. Santiago: Ariadna, 2022: 180-189.

Intercambios musicales entre el Chile de Allende y la Cuba de Fidel. In: Calvo, P.; Cortina, E.; González, V. Los caminos de América. Santiago de Compostela : Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 2022: 239-245.

Sobre um silêncio: as mulheres na historiografia da Unidade Popular. In: Costa, A.; Borges, E. Os 50 anos da Unidade Popular no Chile: um balanço historiográfico. Belo Horizonte: Fino Traço, 2020: 41-70. Co-authored with Mariana Arantes.

 Entre el arte y la política, la Nueva Canción Chilena antes y durante la Unidad Popular. In: Ramírez, P.; Vicente, C. Ahí donde todo comienza. Indagaciones sobre la Cantata de Santa María de Iquique. Madrid: Libros Corrientes, 2020: 71-108.

“Todos juntos seremos la historia a cumplir”: representações sobre o sentido da história na canção engajada chilena (1969-1973). In: Garcia, T.; Fenerick, A. Música popular: história, memória e identidades. São Paulo: Alameda, 2015: 83-107.

La influencia de DICAP en la Nueva Canción Chilena. In: Karmy, E.; Farías, M. Palimpsestos Sonoros: Reflexiones sobre la Nueva Canción Chilena. Santiago: Ceibo, 2014: 201-218.

Journal Articles:

"Reframing Revolution and Solidarity: Photography and Visual Culture in OSPAAAL Poster Art (1967-1990)". Bandung: Journal of the Global South 11 (2024): 102-140. Co-authored with Erika Zerwes and Lídia Generoso.

"Oppressed, Resistant, and Revolutionary: The Third World as Designed in the OSPAAAL Graphic Art". Antíteses 16, 31(2023), p. 251-291.

El computador virtuoso: Music, Technology, and the Market in Popular Unity’s Chile. Latin American Music Review 44, 2 (2023). Co-authored with Danilo Ávila. 

“Fraguando la unidad de dos estrellas solitarias. Relaciones políticas y culturales entre Chile y Cuba durante la Unidad Popular”. Iberoamericana 21, 78 (2021): 153-176.

“Los intelectuales y la cuestión de la cultura popular: interpretaciones e iniciativas durante la Unidad Popular”. Kamchatka: Revista de análisis cultural 17 (2021): 15-41.

“Entre la Revolución Cubana y la Vía Chilena: intelectuales, cultura y política en las páginas de Casa de las Américas y La Quinta Rueda”. Cuadernos de Historia 54 (2021): 175-205. Co-authored with José da Siva Júnior.

“Reflexões sobre uma trajetória de pesquisa ou por que seguir revisitando a Unidade Popular”. Izquierdas 50 (2021): 1-14.

“Como se le habla a un hermano”: la solidaridad hacia Cuba y Vietnam en la Nueva Canción Chilena (1967-1973)”. Secuencia 108 (2020): 1-33. Co-authored with Eileen Karmy.

Ecos da Revolução Cubana no Chile da Unidade Popular: a ‘Declaración Chilena’ e a resposta de Enrique Lihn. Revista Brasileira de História 40 (2020): 289-312.

O panfleto político na Nova Canção Chilena durante a Unidade Popular: entre o “amor ao processo’ e o “terrorismo musical”. História Unisinos 23, 1 (2019): 84-95.

“Ayudar a aquellos artistas que transformaron la canción en un arma de lucha”: o papel das Juventudes Comunistas na difusão da Nova Canção Chilena (1968-1973)”. Tempo e Argumento 9, 22 (2017): 146-173.

Ambições e vocações cruzadas: a cantata popular Santa María de Iquique. Música Popular em Revista 1 (2015): 6-26.

O engajamento político da Nova Canção Chilena e a construção musical de um devir histórico durante a Unidade Popular. Izquierdas 20 (2014): 27-51.

Os primeiros festivais da Nova Canção Chilena e a invenção de um movimento musical. ArtCultura 16 (2014): 23-37.

Esquerdas latino-americanas e discursos identitários nos anos 1960/70: os casos da revista Casa de las Américas e da Nova Canção Chilena. Fronteiras 21 (2013): 118-143. Co-authored with José da Siva Júnior.

“Canto porque la guitarra / tiene sentido y razón”: folclore e política na música de Víctor Jara (1966-1973). História e Cultura 2, 1 (2013): 59-80.

Other Texts:

Apresentação do dossiê “Políticas culturais: projetos, atores e circuitos”. Revista Estudos Ibero-Americanos 48, 1 (2022): 1-4. Co-authored with Mariana Villaça.

Relaciones Alemania-América Latina en el plano cultural: entrevista a Peter Birle. Revista Estudos Ibero-Americanos 48, 1 (2022): 1-12. Co-authored with Mariana Villaça.

Apresentação do dossiê “Usos do passado recente na América Latina”. Revista Eletrônica da ANPHLAC 20, 29 (2020): 1-12. Co-authored with Vanesa Garbero.

Te recuerdo Víctor Jara: Identidade e solidariedade latino-americana em “Lo único que tengo”. A música de 1 (2019), online.