Buscando armonía en las incoherencias: “Contradicciones” de Danilo Vargas Nardiz

Abstract

“The sun is the same in a relative way, but you’re older...” With this line from Pink Floyd’s album Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Danilo Vargas Nardiz opens his short story, “Contradicciones” and as the story closes the solitary musings of the protagonist are accompanied by another song from the album, “Us and Them”. The narration, set in contemporary Havana, is a nostalgic look at young love within the context of a city that isolates its residents and faces a crisis of emigration. The musical references in “Contradicciones” come from outside Cuba and represent a once prohibited esthetic that today is widely known, listened to and accepted. As the songs are woven into Enzo’s memories, they reveal the contrasts and contradictions that are a part of modern-day Cuba. In this paper we will analyze the use of these musical allusions that refer readers to a time of strict state control of Cuba’s cultural life, and we will examine how this same music in contemporary Cuba reveals nostalgia for a past that cannot be recovered. 
In reflecting on the changes experienced in 21st century Cuba, we can better understand the changes in the life of the young protagonist.