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The Pageant

The pageant itself consisted of four acts, and the following is an account of each.  The St. Paul Daily Pioneer Press (a major St. Paul newspaper) contained summaries of each act (47), which are shown below in italics.  The Appeal also covered highlights in Acts II and III (48), which are shown below the descriptions from the Pioneer Press

Act I: "America"

Columbia's Festal Day (an allegory), 1898.  Liberty makes a festal day for her beloved maidens, whom she has chosen as messengers of freedom.  They carry compassion to the Cubans, then sail to Spain to plead for her oppressed subjects in the Isle of Cuba.  Music: "Hymn," "America"

Act II: "Cuba"

Down in the Cuban Sugar Fields, 1885. Evening. Cubans and Negroes coming in from the plantations; singing and dancing. Home life in the island in 1898.  A Cuban family.  A conspiracy in the hills, 1896.  A Cuban spy. Cuban melodies.

 

In Act II, there was a cakewalk dance, which was received great applause.  Fredrick McGhee also appeared as the Cuban revolutionary General Antonio Maceo and "recounted the wrongs of his country and called upon his followers to avenge them."  Act II also dramatized the capture of Cuban spy and traitor to the Spanish.

Act III: "Humanity"

The Battle of Santiago. The Red Cross in Cuba.  The surrender of Santiago.  Music. National American airs.

 

​A number of important figures appeared in the Battle of Santiago:  Sargeant Z.A. Pope, an actual veteran of the battle, was framed as its hero; Clara Barton, nurse and founder of the Red Cross, was portrayed by Mrs. John Quincy Adams; and other important military figures were portrayed by various members of the cast.  At the end of Act III, Fredrick McGhee delivered a short speech (as himself, not General Maceo).  He thanked the audience and emphasized that it was the "aim of the race to progress."  He mentioned that Minnesota had helped African Americans, which was evident in the recent election of J. Frank Wheaton to the state legislature.  He also mentioned that there was no color line among American troops in Cuba.

Act IV: "Freedom

A jubilee in 1900. Delegates from the nations of the world and the new republic of Cuba.  Music. National airs.

 

In Act IV, Cuba was welcomed to the "sisterhood of nations" in this grand, international jubilee.  Africa (represented as a whole country), Cuba, China, Ireland, England, Germany, France, and of course America, were represented in the ceremony.

What does "Cuba" mean?

Click the links below to read an analysis of "Cuba," first from the perspective of racial uplift, american empire, and double consciousness, and second from the perspective of African diaspora.

© Copyright 2013 Charlie Birge. All rights reserved.

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