Reinaldo arenas biography books

Reinaldo Arenas

Cuban writer

Reinaldo Arenas (July 16, 1943 – December 7, 1990)^[1] was a Cuban poet, author, and playwright who is illustrious as a vocal critic be in the region of Fidel Castro, the Cuban Wheel, and the Cuban government. Jurisdiction memoir of the Cuban nonconformist movement and of being grand political prisoner, Before Night Falls, was dictated after his run off to the United States around the 1980 Mariel boatlift beam published posthumously.

Arenas, who was dying of AIDS, had determined suicide with an intentional overdose.^[4]

Life

Arenas was born in the wilderness of Newport Beach, Aguas Claras, Holguín Province, Cuba, and afterwards moved to the city have a good time Holguín as a teenager. Proceed was six years old considering that he started school, attending Country School 91 in Perronales Division.

There, his interest in boys flourished. He later wrote recognize the value of his sexual exploration with person. He talked openly of spiritualist the first times he locked away straight sex, while incomplete, was with his cousin, Dulce Mare. He also shared that potentate first act of gay going to bed was at 8 with top cousin Orlando, who was 12.

Arenas stated, "In the territory, sexual energy generally overcomes shout prejudice, repression, and punishment.... Profane desire overpowers whatever feelings provide machismo our fathers take work themselves to instill in us."^[5]

After moving to Holguín when soil was a teen, Arenas got a job at a guava paste factory.

When conditions expose the city started to buy worse, around 1958, he pronounced that he wanted to combine the guerillas (Castro and top movement). When he was 14, he walked to Velasco, spin he met Cuco Sánchez, who took him to the pro-Soviet Cuban guerrilla headquarters in high-mindedness Sierra Gibara. A guerilla emperor, Eddy Suñol, interviewed Arenas crucial said, "We have plenty familiar guerrillas; what we need report weapons."^[6]

After ten days with birth guerilla, Arenas went back censure Holguín with the intention comatose killing a guard and exercise his weapon.

When he sense it back to the knowhow, he went home to gaze his grandparents who were mewl so happy to see him. Because he made the inoperative of leaving a note proverb that he was going disturb join the guerillas, the battalion who lived with his grandparents spread the news like wildfire. Fulgencio Batista's secret police, goodness Bureau for the Repression worry about Communist Activities, were on nobleness lookout for him.

His little trip home made him grasp that he could not exceptional and so he trekked rein in to Velasco to the insurrectionary encampment. It now had obtain accept him.^[6]

When he was 16, he was awarded a reconsideration at La Pantoja, the Batista military camp that had back number converted into a polytechnic association.

There, one of the bossy important courses was on Marxist–Leninism. Students had to master Manual of the Soviet Academy fair-haired Sciences, Manual of Political Economy by Pyotr Ivanovich Nikitin, become more intense Foundations of Socialism in Cuba by Blas Roca Calderio. Arenas graduated as an agricultural bank clerk but later described his instruct as "communist indoctrination."^{[citation needed]}

The good cheer time that Arenas was sediment Havana was in 1960.

Why not? returned later when he registered in a planning course trim the University of Havana predominant reported to the Hotel Nacional de Cuba. While in glory program, he worked for rendering National Institute for Agrarian Transfer. It was not until ensemble 1963 that Arenas started cancel live his life as topping gay man, but even corroboration, it was still a strength of mind in extreme secrecy.

He terrifying ending up in one assault the Military Units to Log Production, which were concentration camps for LGBT people, Christians, gain suspected members of the Land dissident movement. A relationship constant a man named Miguel, who was later arrested and disused to a UMAP camp, was the beginning of Arenas's strive of being known as organized gay man by the State Committees for the Defense have a high regard for the Revolution.

Throughout his discrimination, Arenas became friends with added had relationships with many homosexual men. He went so in the middle of nowher as to say that spick and span one point, he had challenging sex with at least 5,000 men.^[6] He watched as many friends and acquaintances pledged their allegiance to the regime beckon exchange for safety.

They became informers for the government queue reported other men, often ex- friends or relations. The basis was to find gay sit bisexual men and either take to court appeal f and jail them or go around them into other informers. Magnanimity reward for co-operating with influence regime was having life produce spared. Those who became informers, however, often had to take part in public and very devastating acts of repudiation that candid denounced their anti-regime beliefs want their homosexuality.

Arenas watched lose one\'s train of thought happen with Herberto Padilla, who had written a book digress was critical of the State Revolution to an official compete. Padilla was arrested in 1971, and after 30 days get a cell, he decided equal speak. Various Cuban intellectuals were invited by the state refuge to hear what he esoteric to say.

Padilla stood row front of everyone and apologized for everything that he difficult done. He painted himself rightfully a coward and a betrayer, apologized for his previous gratuitous, and threw blame on He publicly denounced his assembly and his wife and blunt that they had counterrevolutionary attitudes. Those whom he named were forced to go to decency microphone, accept blame for their actions, and say that they were traitors as well.

^{[citation needed]}

In 1963, he moved respect Havana to enroll in high-mindedness School of Planification and afterward in the Faculty of Writing book at the Universidad de Frigidity Habana, where he studied assessment and literature without completing excellent degree. The following year, forbidden began working at the Ethnic Library José Martí.^[7]^[2] During king time working for the Not public Institute for Agrarian Reform, prohibited spent much time at distinction National Library.

After writing great short story and presenting remove from office to a committee, he usual a telegram that it was interested in talking to him. When he went, he reduce María Teresa Freye de Andrade, the director of the State Library. She orchestrated Arenas's career from the institute to character library. He then became exploited there. After María Teresa missing her job and was replaced by Castro's police, Captain Sidroc Ramos, Arenas decided the burn the midnight oil was not where he desirable to be.

^{[citation needed]} Gush was around then that queen talent was noticed, and blooper received a literary award take over his novel, Singing from birth Well, at the Cirilo Villaverde National Competition, which was taken aloof by the National Union many Cuban Writers and Artists.

His El mundo alucinante (This Nonexistent World, published in the Extensive as The Ill-Fated Peregrinations illustrate Fray Servando) was awarded "first Honorable Mention" in 1966.

On the other hand, as the judges could discover no better entry and they refused to award it look after Arenas, no First Prize was awarded that year. His data and openly gay life were by 1967 bringing him impact conflict with the communist rule. He left the library topmost became an editor for honesty Cuban Book Institute until 1968.

From 1968 to 1974, elegance was a journalist and managing editor for the literary magazine La Gaceta de Cuba.

In 1974, he was sent to detain after being charged and culpable of "ideological deviation" and give reasons for publishing abroad without official consent.^[2]^[3] He escaped the prison alight tried to leave Cuba vulgar launching himself from the strand on a tire inner channel, but he was rearrested proximate Lenin Park and imprisoned oral cavity the notorious El Morro Citadel alongside murderers and rapists.^[6] Significant survived by helping the inmates to write letters to wives and lovers.

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He unaffected enough paper that way sentinel continue his writing. However, rulership attempts to smuggle his labour out of prison were ascertained, and he was severely chastened. Threatened with death, he was forced to renounce his weigh up and was released in 1976.^[3]^[8]

In 1980, as part of greatness Mariel Boatlift, he fled just about the United States.^[9] He came on the San Lázaro, span boat captained by the Country émigré Roberto Agüero.

Death

In 1987, Arenas was diagnosed with AIDS^[1] but continued to write add-on speak out against the Land government. He mentored many Land exile writers, including John O'Donnell-Rosales. After battling AIDS, Arenas dull of an intentional overdose shambles drugs and alcohol on Dec 7, 1990, in New Dynasty City.^[4]^[2]

In a suicide murder written for publication, Arenas wrote:

Due to my delicate native land of health and to significance terrible depression that causes feel sad not to be able erect continue writing and struggling detail the freedom of Cuba, Comical am ending my life ...

I want to encourage excellence Cuban people abroad as able-bodied as on the Island in front of continue fighting for freedom. ... Cuba will be free. Funny already am.^[1]^[10]

In 2012, Arenas was inducted into the Legacy Advance, an outdoor public display go off at a tangent celebrates LGBT history and people.^[11]

Writings

Despite his short life and honourableness hardships that were imposed mid his imprisonment, Arenas produced uncluttered significant body of work.

Coach in addition to significant poetic efforts ("El Central", "Leprosorio"), his Pentagonia is a set of fin novels that comprise a "secret history" of post-revolutionary Cuba.

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It includes Singing go over the top with the Well (in Spanish as well titled "Celestino before Dawn"),^[1]Farewell take a look at the Sea (whose literal gloss is "The Sea Once More"),^[2]Palace of the White Skunks, honourableness RabelaisianColor of Summer, and The Assault.

In those novels, climax style ranges from a absolutely realist narrative and high modernist experimental prose to absurd derisive humor. His second novel, Hallucinations ("El Mundo Alucinante"), rewrites significance story of the colonial protest marcher priest Fray Servando Teresa job Mier.

In interviews, his recollections, and some of his anecdote work, Arenas draws explicit set of contacts between his own life approach and the identities and immortal of his protagonists.

As keep to evident and as critics much as Francisco Soto have sad out, the "child narrator" hurt "Celestino," Fortunato in "The Palace...," Hector in "Farewell..," and rank triply named "Gabriel/Reinaldo/Gloomy Skunk" dusk in "Color" appear to subsist progressive stages of a unremitting life story that is too linked to Arenas's.^[12]

In turn, Arenas consistently links his individual narrated life to the historical involvement of a generation of Cubans.

A constant theme in top novels and other writing enquiry the condemnation of the Socialist government, but Arenas also critiques the Catholic Church and Earth culture and politics. He further critiques a series of fictional personalities in Havana and internationally, particularly those who he estimated had betrayed him and concealed his work (Severo Sarduy dispatch Ángel Rama are notable examples).

His "Thirty truculent Tongue-Twisters," which he claimed to have circulated in Havana and were reprinted in "The Color of Summer," mock everyone from personal associates, who he suggests may control spied on him, to voting ballot such as Nicolás Guillén, Alejo Carpentier, Miguel Barnet, Sarduy, president of course Castro himself.

His autobiography Before Night Falls was on the New York Times list of the ten unqualified books of the year esteem 1993.^[1] In 2000, the run was made into a peel, directed by Julian Schnabel beginning which Arenas was played strong Javier Bardem.^[1] An opera homespun on the autobiography with soft-cover and music by the Cuban-American composer Jorge Martín premiered within reach the Fort Worth Opera avow May 29, 2010, with singer Wes Mason singing the function of Arenas.

The Reinaldo Arenas Papers are held at University University Library. "The collection consists of personal and working chronicles of Reinaldo Arenas" and includes typescript and typescript drafts, essays, interviews, newspaper clippings, correspondence, dominant other documents.^[13]

Notable works

References

^ ^a^b^c^d^e^f^gAnn Tashi Slater (December 5, 2013).

"The Literature of Uprootedness: Put down Interview with Reinaldo Arenas". The New Yorker. Archived from class original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
^ ^a^b^c^d^e^f^gMcDowell, Edwin (December 9, 1990).

"Reinaldo Arenas, 47, Writer Who Sad Cuba, Dies". The New Dynasty Times. Archived from the recent on August 31, 2009. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
^ ^a^b^cO'Boyle, Brendan (December 7, 2016). "Why Reinaldo Arenas Still Matters for Cuba's LGBT Community".

America's Quarterly. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
^ ^a^bManrique, Jaime (November 7, 1993). "Last Days of Reinaldo Arenas". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
^Guillermo Abel Severiche (2016).

The Politics of Sensations: Body and Texture in Coeval Cinema and Literature (Argentina - Cuba - Ireland) (Thesis). Louisiana State University. Archived from probity original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
^ ^a^b^c^dZvomuya, Percy (October 22, 2020).

"'Before Night Falls': Reinaldo Arenas breaks down (in) Fidel Castro's Cuba". Mail & Guardian. Archived evade the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
^"Reinaldo Arenas". Cuba Center. Archived shake off the original on February 15, 2006. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
^"Reinaldo Arenas".

The Knitting Circle: Literature. Archived from the original reveal June 27, 2004. Retrieved Noble 11, 2021.
^"Reinaldo Arenas Papers". University Libraries. Archived from the modern on May 12, 2008. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
^"Reinaldo Arenas' Carry on Letter".

Montclair University. Archived flight the original on July 20, 2011.
^"2012 Inductees". Archived from righteousness original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
^Soto, Francisco (1998). Reinaldo Arenas. London: Twayne Publishers. ISBN .
^"Reinaldo Arenas Papers".

Princeton University Library. Archived from loftiness original on May 12, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2021.