Incorrigibility and Becoming-Child: Portrayals of People Living with HIV/AIDS in the Works of Cuban Writer Miguel Angel Fraga

This chapter explores the representation of HIV/AIDS in the narratives of Cuban writer Miguel Angel Fraga, focusing on his experiences within the “Los Cocos” sanatorium. Fraga’s literary contributions offer profound insights into the biopolitical strategies employed by the Cuban state during the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s. The forced isolation policies within Cuba’s ‘AIDS sanatoriums’ not only impacted public health but also resulted in human rights violations and psychological distress among confined individuals. Fraga’s narratives illustrate the profound impact of such policies on the lives of patients, highlighting their struggles, resilience, and creative resistance within the boundaries of confinement. By analysing Fraga’s fictional and non-fictional works, this study delves into the complexities of subjectification, the infantilisation of patients, and the interplay between the micro-politics of individual experiences and the macro-politics of state control. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concept of the ‘incorrigible’, the chapter critically examines how individuals with HIV/AIDS were categorised within the sanatoriums and how Fraga subverts this portrayal by presenting characters who embody the ‘incorrigible’ label—rebels consistently defying authority. Furthermore, the study explores the ‘becoming-child’ concept within the narrative as a form of political resistance, challenging enforced infantilisation and advocating for an experimental attitude that questions established norms.