A collection of essays examining the intersection of psychiatry, popular religion, and magico-religious practice in Cuba.
- Publisher: Editorial Oriente
- Year: 2001
- Format: Softcover
- Length: 136 pp.
- Language: Spanish
- ISBN: 9591103026
Condition: Pages clean and unmarked. Some curling to the front cover, bumped corners, and scattered foxing.
From the rear cover, a description and endorsement by Joel James Figarola:
In this book by Dr. Cutié Bressler—a collection of essays—theoretical and practical psychiatric knowledge is skillfully combined with fascinating insights into the diverse cultural behaviors found within our magico-religious systems. His expansive medical experience and observation of dozens of ceremonies enabled him to successfully intertwine two realms traditionally viewed as antagonists: science and religion. (our translation)
The rear cover also identifies Alberto Cutié Bressler as an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Instituto Superior de Ciencias Médicas de Santiago de Cuba. He directed a treatment service for alcoholism and other forms of drug dependence, served as a member of the Provincial Mental Health Commission, and collaborated with the popular religiosity research team at Casa del Caribe.
A colophon on the final page states that printing was completed in December 2001 at Quebecor World Bogotá S.A. in Bogotá, Colombia, in an edition of 3,000 copies.
The title is extraordinarily scarce on the secondhand market, presumably in part because of the longstanding U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. Under the first-sale doctrine, the Berman Amendment, and the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, secondhand booksellers are not prohibited from dealing in lawfully acquired informational materials such as books. Nonetheless, at this time of listing we are unable to locate another copy of this title on U.S. commercial sales platforms.
And for treasure hunters... this copy comes with a bit of ephemera found laid-in, a postcard black-and-white photograph of Che Guevara. On the reverse is a heartfelt message written in Spanish and English and addressed to a resident of the Bronx. It reads, in part, la vida es una tormenta pero no importa. “Life is a storm, but it doesn’t matter.”