Winner, 2020 Herbert H. Lehman Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in New York history
Honorable Mention, 2019 CASA Literary Prize for Studies on Latinos in the United States, given by La Casa de las Américas
The dramatic story of the origins of the Cuban community in nineteenth-century New York.
More than one hundred years before the Cuban Revolution of 1959 sparked an exodus that created today’s prominent Cuban American presence, Cubans were settling in New York City in what became largest community of Latin Americans in the nineteenth-century Northeast. This book brings this community to vivid life, tracing its formation and how it was shaped by both the sugar trade and the long struggle for independence from Spain. New York City’s refineries bought vast quantities of raw sugar from Cuba, ultimately creating an important center of commerce for Cuban émigrés as the island tumbled into the tumultuous decades that would close out the century and define Cuban nationhood and identity.
New York became the primary destination for Cuban émigrés in search of an education, opportunity, wealth, to start a new life or forget an old one, to evade royal authority, plot a revolution, experience freedom, or to buy and sell goods. While many of their stories ended tragically, others were steeped in heroism and sacrifice, and still others in opportunism and mendacity. Lisandro Pérez beautifully weaves together all these stories, showing the rise of a vibrant and influential community. Historically rich and engrossing, Sugar, Cigars, and Revolution immerses the reader in the riveting drama of Cuban New York.
Lisandro Pérez analyzes the major forces that shaped the community, but also tells the stories of individuals and families that made up the fabric of a little-known immigrant world that represents the origins of New York City's dynamic Latino presence.

"En prosa clara y precisa, Lisandro Pérez cuenta la historia de los cubanos del siglo XIX en Nueva York con rigor y una dosis exacta de empatía hacia los protagonistas. Este libro académico, sin duda un aporte incalculable a la historiografía cubana, se lee, sin embargo, como si fuera una novela." - Uva de Aragón, El Nuevo Herald

"In this colorful and scrupulously researched history, Pérez . . . traces the 19th-century origins of Cuban New York. [His] engrossing work showcases a little-discussed facet of New York City's rich history." - Publishers Weekly

"Pérez vividly describes how the tightly knit Cuban émigré community reproduced the political cleavages and social mores of its homeland." - Foreign Affairs

"A fascinating excursion into nineteenth-century New York . . . serves as a comprehensive guide to the social, cultural, and political lives of the transnational community of wealthy Cuban plantation owners and their immigrant compatriots . . .Great spiritedness animates the prose . . . a lively and multifaceted record of Cuban communities in New York City." - Foreword Reviews

"A thoroughly researched study on the early history of Cubans in New York… Sugar, Cigars, and Revolution makes an important contribution to Cuban diasporic history in New York and Pérez’s attention to detail and crafting of narrative is impressive." - New West Indian Guide

"In Sugar, Cigars, and Revolution, Lisandro Pérez has written an immensely enjoyable book . . . SCR is a captivating account, refreshingly free of polemic and academic jargon. Pérez expertly sets up scenes, weaves together the lives of characters, and introduces and analyzes texts, knowing exactly when and how to step back to summarize the broad sweep of events and politics . . . the book is brimming with insights and is eminently assignable. It would make an excellent gift for readers outside the academy who are interested in Cuban history or forgotten stories of old New York." - Cuban Studies