Abstract
This paper presents an overview of the presence and treatment of black and black-related issues in Cuban literary works. Starting from the premise that literature and history are inextricably linked, each author and work are analyzed in the historical context where they belong.
It equally attempts at investigating the role of history as a force conditioning literary contents and attitudes, either giving impetus or inhibiting them. One conclusion that can be drawn from the analysis of this literary presence is that the black, since the beginning of literature in Cuba until today, have been rather a tool to convey concepts of varied nature in the interests of the author, on the basis of using imparted stereotypes.
An organic reflection of what is and means to be black remains an exception in Cuban literature, still under the thumb of aesthetic patterns generated elsewhere.