Caribbean Cosmopolitanism: Junot Díaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and René Pérez Joglar’s Residente

Kathleen Cunniffe Pena

doi:10.23870/marlas.173

Abstract

In recent political discourse, “cosmopolitanism” has become synonymous with elitism and disloyalty to national values. However, this discourse ignores the varied history of cosmopolitanism, both as an aesthetic and a worldview. Not all cosmopolitanism is rootless, as demonstrated by Appiah’s Ethics of Identity (2005), which proposes a new kind of identity based on “rooted cosmopolitanism.” And as James Clifford points out, travel—and cosmopolitanism, along with it—is no longer (or perhaps never has been) reserved for wealthy elites. Clifford emphasizes that travel does not only include “Westerners” traveling to developing countries, but also the reverse; this second kind of traveler follows the trajectory of a different cosmopolitanism. This article examines cosmopolitanism in the work of two contemporary Caribbean artists—Dominican-American author Junot Diaz, and Puerto Rican musician Rene Juan Perez Joglar. The protagonist of Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao lives the tensions inherent in nationalist and cosmopolitan impulses—like the author, the novel moves between the Dominican Republic and the United States. The title alludes to Irish writer and famed cosmopolitan, Oscar Wilde. Although criticism of the novel has not drawn any connection to Wilde beyond the title itself, this paper suggests that Diaz’s work relates to Wilde on deeper levels related to cosmopolitanism, particularly as Wilde tied this notion to the struggle for individualism. Similar notions surface in Perez Joglar’s music and recent documentary film, Residente, presenting a rooted cosmopolitanism that, while acknowledging national history and culture, pushes the boundaries of identity across the globe.

Highlights

Contemporary CosmopolitanismAs nationalist sentiments and tensions rise in Europe and the United States, conservative news media depict global consciousness and citizenship as an unrealistic, elitist position
Though, the cosmopolitans of the twenty-first century are migrants, refugees, and emigres. This is precisely the form of cosmopolitanism we see in the work of Caribbean artists Junot Díaz and René Pérez Joglar—a postcolonial global consciousness that elevates individualism and respect for differences at the same time as it remains grounded in the nation
I propose to explore the ways in which both works present a contemporary view of cosmopolitanism, not as a lofty, elite mindset but as a global identity rooted in the hard realities of colonization and immigration

Summary

Contemporary Cosmopolitanism

As nationalist sentiments and tensions rise in Europe and the United States, conservative news media depict global consciousness and citizenship as an unrealistic, elitist position. Díaz’s 2007 novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao refers to a mispronunciation of “Oscar Wilde,” while Pérez Joglar paid tribute to Wilde during his live performance at the 2011 Viña del Mar International Song Festival Albeit brief, such nods to the famed Irish writer provide a valuable hint at the ideas that have shaped these Caribbean visions of cosmopolitanism. I propose to explore the ways in which both works present a contemporary view of cosmopolitanism, not as a lofty, elite mindset but as a global identity rooted in the hard realities of colonization and immigration. Does this reality maintain a sense of national identity, it holds the possibility of overcoming the narrow mindsets and abusive practices of the past

Postcolonial Cosmopolitanism and Oscar Wilde

Cosmopolitan Affinities