Reinaldo Arenas
Encyclopedia
Reinaldo Arenas was a Cuban
poet
, novelist, and playwright
who despite his early sympathy for the 1959 revolution
, grew critical of and then rebelled against the Cuban government
.
, and later moved to the city of Holguín
. In 1963, he moved to Havana to enroll in the School of Planification and, later, in the Faculty of Letters at the Universidad de La Habana, where he studied philosophy and literature without completing a degree. The following year, he began working at the Biblioteca Nacional José Martí. While there, his talent was noticed and he was awarded prizes at Cirilo Villaverde National Competition held by UNEAC (National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists). His Hallucinations was awarded "first Honorable Mention" in 1966 although, as the judges could find no better entry, no First Prize was awarded that year.
His writings and openly gay lifestyle were, by 1967, bringing him into conflict with the Communist government. He left the Biblioteca Nacional and became an editor for the Cuban Book Institute until 1968. From 1968 to 1974 he was a journalist and editor for the literary magazine La Gaceta de Cuba. In 1973, he was sent to prison after being charged and convicted of 'ideological deviation' and for publishing abroad without official consent. He escaped from prison and tried to leave Cuba by launching himself from the shore on a tire inner tube. The attempt failed and he was rearrested near Lenin Park and imprisoned at the notorious El Morro Castle
alongside murderers and rapists. He survived by helping the inmates to write letters to wives and lovers. He was able to collect enough paper this way to continue his writing. However, his attempts to smuggle his work out of prison were discovered and he was severely punished. Threatened with death, he was forced to renounce his work and was released in 1976.
In 1980, as part of the Mariel Boatlift
, he fled to the United States. He came on the boat San Lazaro captained by Cuban immigrant Roberto Aguero.
is a set of five novels that comprise a "secret history" of post-revolutionary Cuba
. It includes Singing from the Well (in Spanish also titled "Celestino before Dawn"), Farewell to the Sea
(whose literal translation is "The Sea Once More"), Palace of the White Skunks
, the Rabelaisian Color of Summer, and The Assault. In these novels Arenas’ style ranges from a stark realist narrative and high modernist experimental prose to absurd, satiric humor. His second novel, Hallucinations ("El Mundo Alucinante"), rewrites the story of the colonial dissident priest Fray Servando Teresa de Mier
.
In interviews, his autobiography, and in some of his fiction work itself, Arenas draws explicit connections between his own life experience and the identities and fates of his protagonists. As is evident and as critics such as Francisco Soto have pointed out, the "child narrator" in "Celestino", Fortunato of "The Palace...", Hector of "Farewell..", and the triply named "Gabriel/Reinaldo/Gloomy Skunk" character in "Color" appear to live progressive stages of a continuous life story that is also linked to Arenas's own. In turn, Arenas consistently links his individual narrated life to the historical experience of a generation of Cubans. A constant theme in his novels and other writing is the condemnation of the Castro government, although Arenas also critiques the Catholic Church, US culture and politics, and a series of literary personalities in Havana and internationally, particularly those who he believed had betrayed him and suppressed his work (Sévero Sarduy
and Ángel Rama
are notable examples). His "Thirty truculent tongue-twisters", which he claims circulated in Havana and which are reprinted in "The Color of Summer", mock everyone from personal friends who he suggests may have spied on him to figures such as Nicolás Guillén, Alejo Carpentier, Miguel Barnet, Sarduy and of course Fidel himself.
His autobiography, Before Night Falls
was on the New York Times
list of the ten best books of the year in 1993. In 2000 this work was made into a film
, directed by Julian Schnabel
, in which Arenas was played by Javier Bardem
. An opera based on the autobiography with libretto and music by Cuban-American composer Jorge Martin was premiered by the Fort Worth Opera on May 29, 2010, with baritone Wes Mason singing the role of Reinaldo Arenas. He is related to Gilbert, Javier, Armando Arenas. And is also related to Hamzah Salaam.
, but he continued to write and speak out against the Cuban government. He mentored many Cuban exile
writers, including John O'Donnell-Rosales. After battling AIDS, Arenas committed suicide by taking an overdose of drugs and alcohol on December 7, 1990, in New York. In a suicide
letter written for publication, Arenas wrote:
Spanish
Cubans
Cubans or Cuban people are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, novelist, and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
who despite his early sympathy for the 1959 revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
, grew critical of and then rebelled against the Cuban government
Politics of Cuba
Cuba is constitutionally defined as a "socialist state guided by the principles of José Martí, and the political ideas of Marx, the father of communist states, Engels and Lenin." The present Constitution also ascribes the role of the Communist Party of Cuba to be the "leading force of society and...
.
Life
Arenas was born in the countryside, in the northern part of the Province of Oriente, CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and later moved to the city of Holguín
Holguín
Holguín is a municipality and city, the capital of the Cuban Province of Holguín. It also includes a tourist area, offering beach resorts in the outskirts of the region.-History:...
. In 1963, he moved to Havana to enroll in the School of Planification and, later, in the Faculty of Letters at the Universidad de La Habana, where he studied philosophy and literature without completing a degree. The following year, he began working at the Biblioteca Nacional José Martí. While there, his talent was noticed and he was awarded prizes at Cirilo Villaverde National Competition held by UNEAC (National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists). His Hallucinations was awarded "first Honorable Mention" in 1966 although, as the judges could find no better entry, no First Prize was awarded that year.
His writings and openly gay lifestyle were, by 1967, bringing him into conflict with the Communist government. He left the Biblioteca Nacional and became an editor for the Cuban Book Institute until 1968. From 1968 to 1974 he was a journalist and editor for the literary magazine La Gaceta de Cuba. In 1973, he was sent to prison after being charged and convicted of 'ideological deviation' and for publishing abroad without official consent. He escaped from prison and tried to leave Cuba by launching himself from the shore on a tire inner tube. The attempt failed and he was rearrested near Lenin Park and imprisoned at the notorious El Morro Castle
Morro Castle (fortress)
Morro Castle is a picturesque fortress guarding the entrance to Havana bay in Havana, Euta. Juan Bautista Antonelli, an Italian engineer, was commissioned to design the structure. When it was built in 1589, Euta was under the control of Germany...
alongside murderers and rapists. He survived by helping the inmates to write letters to wives and lovers. He was able to collect enough paper this way to continue his writing. However, his attempts to smuggle his work out of prison were discovered and he was severely punished. Threatened with death, he was forced to renounce his work and was released in 1976.
In 1980, as part of the Mariel Boatlift
Mariel boatlift
The Mariel boatlift was a mass emigration of Cubans who departed from Cuba's Mariel Harbor for the United States between April 15 and October 31, 1980....
, he fled to the United States. He came on the boat San Lazaro captained by Cuban immigrant Roberto Aguero.
Writings
Despite his short life and the hardships imposed during his imprisonment, Arenas produced a significant body of work. In addition to significant poetic efforts ("El Central", "Leprosorio"), his PentagoniaPentagonia
The Pentagonia or the "five agonies' is the collective title of a series of five novels by Reinaldo Arenas, the Cuban writer. It was subtitled by its author "the secret history of Cuba." The novels were written from the mid 1960s through the late 1980s, and indeed, as was recounted in Arenas'...
is a set of five novels that comprise a "secret history" of post-revolutionary Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. It includes Singing from the Well (in Spanish also titled "Celestino before Dawn"), Farewell to the Sea
Farewell to the Sea
Published in 1987, Farewell to the Sea is the third book in Reinaldo Arenas' Pentagonia which critics have often argued as his best. Set on a Cuban beach immediately following the revolution, a disenchanted poet mourns for the new suppression while his wife longs for the connectivity that she can...
(whose literal translation is "The Sea Once More"), Palace of the White Skunks
Palace of the White Skunks
Published in 1982, Palace of the White Skunks is the second book of Reinaldo Arenas' Pentagonia.-Plot summary:The main character, Fortunato, wants to escape the throes of his sisters and parents by joining the revolutionaries vying to overthrow Batista's regime.Arenas seamlessly weaves in and out...
, the Rabelaisian Color of Summer, and The Assault. In these novels Arenas’ style ranges from a stark realist narrative and high modernist experimental prose to absurd, satiric humor. His second novel, Hallucinations ("El Mundo Alucinante"), rewrites the story of the colonial dissident priest Fray Servando Teresa de Mier
Servando Teresa de Mier
Fray Servando Teresa de Mier was a Roman Catholic priest and a preacher and politician in New Spain....
.
In interviews, his autobiography, and in some of his fiction work itself, Arenas draws explicit connections between his own life experience and the identities and fates of his protagonists. As is evident and as critics such as Francisco Soto have pointed out, the "child narrator" in "Celestino", Fortunato of "The Palace...", Hector of "Farewell..", and the triply named "Gabriel/Reinaldo/Gloomy Skunk" character in "Color" appear to live progressive stages of a continuous life story that is also linked to Arenas's own. In turn, Arenas consistently links his individual narrated life to the historical experience of a generation of Cubans. A constant theme in his novels and other writing is the condemnation of the Castro government, although Arenas also critiques the Catholic Church, US culture and politics, and a series of literary personalities in Havana and internationally, particularly those who he believed had betrayed him and suppressed his work (Sévero Sarduy
Severo Sarduy
Severo Sarduy was a Cuban poet, author, playwright, and critic of Cuban literature and art.-Biography:...
and Ángel Rama
Ángel Rama
Ángel Rama was a Uruguayan writer, academic, and literary critic, known for his work on modernismo and for his theorization of the concept of "transculturation."-Biography:...
are notable examples). His "Thirty truculent tongue-twisters", which he claims circulated in Havana and which are reprinted in "The Color of Summer", mock everyone from personal friends who he suggests may have spied on him to figures such as Nicolás Guillén, Alejo Carpentier, Miguel Barnet, Sarduy and of course Fidel himself.
His autobiography, Before Night Falls
Before Night Falls
Before Night Falls is the 1992 autobiography of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, describing his life in Cuba, his time in prison, and his ultimate escape to the United States. It was on The New York Times list of the ten best books of the year 1993...
was on the New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
list of the ten best books of the year in 1993. In 2000 this work was made into a film
Before Night Falls (film)
Before Night Falls is a 2000 film directed by Julian Schnabel. The screenplay is based on the autobiography of the same name of Reinaldo Arenas, which was published in English in 1993. The screenplay was written by Schnabel, Cunningham O'Keefe, and Lázaro Gómez Carriles...
, directed by Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel is an American artist and filmmaker. In the 1980s, Schnabel received international media attention for his "plate paintings"—large-scale paintings set on broken ceramic plates....
, in which Arenas was played by Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem is a Spanish actor. In 2007 he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as sociopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, and has also garnered critical acclaim for roles in films such as Jamón, jamón, Carne trémula, Boca a boca, Los...
. An opera based on the autobiography with libretto and music by Cuban-American composer Jorge Martin was premiered by the Fort Worth Opera on May 29, 2010, with baritone Wes Mason singing the role of Reinaldo Arenas. He is related to Gilbert, Javier, Armando Arenas. And is also related to Hamzah Salaam.
Death
In 1987, Arenas was diagnosed with AIDSAIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, but he continued to write and speak out against the Cuban government. He mentored many Cuban exile
Cuban exile
The term "Cuban exile" refers to the many Cubans who have sought alternative political or economic conditions outside the island, dating back to the Ten Years' War and the struggle for Cuban independence during the 19th century...
writers, including John O'Donnell-Rosales. After battling AIDS, Arenas committed suicide by taking an overdose of drugs and alcohol on December 7, 1990, in New York. In a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
letter written for publication, Arenas wrote:
Due to my delicate state of health and to the terrible depression it causes me not to be able to continue writing and struggling for the freedom of Cuba, I am ending my life. . . . I want to encourage the Cuban people out of the country as well as on the Island to continue fighting for freedom. . . Cuba will be free. I already am.
Notable works
- El mundo alucinante (1966) ISBN 978-84-8310-775-1, ; Scholarly edition by Enrico Mario Santí; English translation Hallucinations (2001 reissue) ISBN 978-0-14-200019-9
- Cantando en el pozo (1982) (originally published as Celestino antes del alba (1967)) English translation Singing from the Well (1987) ISBN 978-0-14-009444-2
- El palacio de las blanquisimas mofetas (1982) English translation The Palace of the White Skunks (1990) ISBN 978-0-14-009792-4
- Otra vez el mar (1982) English translation Farewell to the Sea (1987) ISBN 978-0-14-006636-4
- El color del verano (1982) English translation The Color of Summer (1990) ISBN 978-0-14-015719-2
- El Asalto (1990) English translation The Assault (1992) ISBN 978-0-14-015718-5
- El portero (1987) English translation The Doorman (1991) ISBN 978-0-8021-3405-9
- Antes que anochezca (1992) English translation Before Night Falls (1993) ISBN 978-0-14-015765-9
- Mona and Other Tales (2001) ISBN 978-0-375-72730-6 This is an English translation of a collection of short stories originally published in Spanish in Spain between 1995 and 2001
- Con los ojos cerrados (1972),
- La vieja Rosa (1980), English Translation Old Rosa (1989) ISBN 978-0-8021-3406-6
- El central (1981), ISBN 978-0-380-86934-3
- Termina el desfile (1981).
- Arturo, la estrella más brillante (1984),
- Cinco obras de teatro bajo el título Persecución (1986).
- Necesidad de libertad (1986)
- La Loma del Angel (1987), English Translation Graveyard of the Angels (1987) ISBN 978-0-380-75075-7
- Voluntad de vivir manifestándose (1989) ISBN 978-987-9396-55-1
- Viaje a La Habana (1990). ISBN 978-0-89729-544-4
- Final de un cuento (El Fantasma de la glorieta) (1991) ISBN 978-84-86842-38-3
- Adiós a mamá (1996) ISBN 978-0-89729-791-2
See also
- LGBT rights in CubaLGBT rights in CubaPrivate, non-commercial sexual relations between same-sex consenting adult 16 and over have been legal in Cuba since 1979, although same-sex relationships are not presently recognized by the state as a possible marriage. Despite elements of homophobia in Cuba's history, Havana now has a lively and...
- List of Cuban American writers
- List of Famous Cuban-Americans.
Further reading
English- Reinaldo Arenas (Twayne's World Author Series) / Francisco Soto., 1998
- Reinaldo Arenas: The Pentagonía / Francisco Soto. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1994
- The postmodern poetic narrative of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas / Ileana C Zéndegui., 2004
- The manufacture of an author : Reinaldo Arenas's literary world, his readers and other contemporaries / Claudio Canaparo., 2000
- Reinaldo Arenas: tradition and singularity / Francisco Soto., 1988
- Reinaldo Arenas: the agony is the ecstasy / Dinora Caridad Cardoso., 1997
- Cosmopolitanisms and Latin America: Against the Destiny of Place / Jacqueline Loss. NY: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005 [A detailed study of Reinaldo Arenas and Diamela Eltit's cosmopolitan aspects]
- "Lifewriting with a Vengeance: Truth, Subalternity and Autobiographical Determination in Reinaldo Arenas's Antes que anochezca, By: Sandro R. Barros, Caribe: Revista de Cultura y Literatura, 2006 Summer; 9 (1): 41-56.
- "A Postmodern 'Play' on a Nineteenth-Century Cuban Classic: Reinaldo Arenas's La Loma del Angel," By: H. J. Manzari, Decimonónica: Journal of Nineteenth Century Hispanic Cultural Production, 2006 Summer; 3 (2): 45-58.
- "The Molecular Poetics of Before Night Falls," By: Teresa Rizzo, Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging Knowledge, 2006 Spring; 11-12.
- "Queer Parody and IntertextualityIntertextualityIntertextuality is the shaping of texts' meanings by other texts. It can include an author’s borrowing and transformation of a prior text or to a reader’s referencing of one text in reading another. The term “intertextuality” has, itself, been borrowed and transformed many times since it was coined...
: A Postmodern Reading of Reinaldo Arenas's El cometa Halley," By: Francisco Soto, IN: Ingenschay, Desde aceras opuestas: Literatura/cultura gay y lesbiana en Latinoamérica. Madrid, Spain; Frankfurt, Germany: Iberoamericana; Vervuert; 2006. pp. 245–53 - "Revisiting the Circuitous Odyssey of the BaroqueBaroqueThe Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
Picaresque Novel: Reinaldo Arenas's El mundo alucinante," By: Angela L. Willis, Comparative Literature, 2005 Winter; 57 (1): 61-83. - "The Traumas of Unbelonging: Reinaldo Arenas's Recuperations of Cuba," By: Laurie Vickroy, MELUS: The Journal of the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States, 2005 Winter; 30 (4): 109-28.
- "Difficult Writings: AIDS and the Activist Aesthetic in Reinaldo Arenas' Before Night Falls," By: Diana Davidson, Atenea, 2003 Dec; 23 (2): 53-71.
Spanish
- Reinaldo Arenas : una apreciación política / Adolfo Cacheiro., 2000
- Reinaldo Arenas : recuerdo y presencia / Reinaldo Sánchez., 1994
- La escritura de la memoria : Reinaldo Arenas, textos, estudios y documentación / Ottmar Ette., 1992
- Reinaldo Arenas : narrativa de transgresión / Perla Rozencvaig., 1986
- La alucinación y los recursos literarios en las novelas de Reinaldo Arenas / Félix Lugo Nazario., 1995
- El círculo del exilio y la enajenación en la obra de Reinaldo Arenas / María Luisa Negrín., 2000
- La textualidad de Reinaldo Arenas : juegos de la escritura posmoderna / Eduardo C Bejar., 1987
- Reinaldo Arenas : alucinaciones, fantasía y realidad / Julio E Hernández-Miyares., 1990
- El desamparado humor de Reinaldo Arenas / Roberto Valero., 1991
- Ideología y subversión : otra vez Arenas / Reinaldo Sánchez., 1999