Web Letters: An Empire of Vice

By Joshua Jelly-Schapiro

This article appeared in the June 29, 2009 edition of The Nation.

June 10, 2009

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  • I seriously doubt that the distinguished guests were being served Mexican food instead of Cuban. Enchiladas are a Mexican concoction. Perhaps you meant to say crab "enchilado" (with an "o") and conch "enchilado." Enchilado dishes in Cuba are made with wine, tomatoes, paprika, olive oil, and garlic. Enchiladas are made with Mexican tortillas. In Cuba, Mexican-style tortillas do not exist. Cuban tortillas are made with eggs and a variety of foods, but mostly potatoes, just like in Spain (an unfolded omelet, similar to the Italian frittata).

    Omar Godoy

    Silver Lake, CA

    06/24/2009 @ 1:33pm


  • Where are your editors? Jelly-Schapiro's article about Cuba is readable enough, except when he lapses into barbarisms apparently is meant to be French. There is no such word as "civilitrice," and "amour propre," which means self-love or vanity, is not the sort of thing one can regard an island as. If you're going to let your writers show off their pretentious foreign phrases, please insist they get them right.

    Ronald de Sousa

    Toronto, Ontario

    06/12/2009 @ 10:17am


  • The author misuses the phrase "amour propre", by saying, "...on an island, moreover, that the United States had regarded as an amour propre." The phrase means self-love in French, and carries the same meaning in English, usually a very strong, haughty, hubristic self love. I suggest a dictionary for both the author and the editor.

    Ashley Camarillo

    Los Angeles, CA

    06/12/2009 @ 05:06am


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