Geographical Reviews: Atlas Nacional de Cuba

Summary

This paper examines the first national atlas of Cuba, published in Spanish and Russian to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Revolution. Commissioned in 1965 by the Cuban Academy of Sciences through a joint Cuban-Soviet initiative, the atlas is analyzed not merely as a cartographic product but as a political document embedded in the ideology of the post‑1959 socialist state. The study uses descriptive content analysis to assess the atlas’s structure, thematic coverage, data sources, and rhetorical framing. The volume comprises 102 map pages and 29 pages of text, with topics ranging from physical geography and natural resources to economy, population, education, health, and historical narrative. Most socioeconomic data refer to 1965–1966, while the textual sections and introductory remarks explicitly frame the work as a homage to the revolutionary transformation of Cuba from a “pseudo-republic” to a sovereign socialist state. The analysis finds that despite this ideological framing, cartographic evidence of revolutionary achievements remains limited: the only direct spatial representation of post‑revolutionary economic progress is an inset map detailing new industrial installations completed, under construction, or expanded between 1959 and 1967. Other maps, such as those of land use, industry, and transport, do not visually convey the asserted systemic transformation. The paper concludes that the atlas, while a monumental undertaking, functions more as a symbolic political artifact than as a comprehensive geographic portrait, reflecting the inherent tension between scientific cartography and state‑sponsored propaganda goals during the Cold War era.