Older adult Cubans moving to the Canary Islands (Spain): Migrants' strategies in later life

Abstract

The research on migration to Spain of Cuban citizens in later life proposes to overcome the lack of academic knowledge from these analytical perspectives: migrations of older adult people beyond the issue of lifestyle mobility; the transnational diasporic nexus favoring migrations; and the Cuban community residing abroad, outside the United States of America. The combination of these elements in this case study shows the agency of older adult Cuban citizens who move to the Canary Islands, trying to achieve a greater level of material well-being and taking advantage of the diasporic ties between the Canary Islands and Cuba; but this is a process that brings out, simultaneously, feelings of dislocation and nostalgia in the stage of old age. The development of a mixed methodology and the focus on the life course of migrants offer an opportunity to reflect on the cultural and social construction of ageing in migration studies. Consequently, this research allows a deepening of knowledge on human mobility from the perspective of ageing in a counter-diasporic migration, showing the relationship between emigration and life cycle and demonstrating the strength and spirit of achievement of those individuals who decide to emigrate despite their advanced age.