Reinaldo Arenas facts for kids

Reinaldo Arenas (born July 16, 1943 – died December 7, 1990) was a Cuban poet, novelist, and playwright. He was known for speaking out against Fidel Castro and the Cuban government. His book, Before Night Falls, tells his life story. He wrote it after moving to the United States in 1980. It was published after he passed away.

Early Life in Cuba

Reinaldo Arenas was born in the countryside of Aguas Claras, Holguín Province, Cuba. He started school when he was six years old. As a teenager, he moved to the city of Holguín.

Joining the Revolution

Around 1958, when he was 14, Arenas decided to join the Cuban Revolution. He wanted to fight with the guerrilla fighters led by Castro. He went to their camp in the Sierra Gibara. After a short time, he returned home.

His family was worried because he had left a note saying he was joining the rebels. The secret police of Fulgencio Batista (the leader before Castro) were looking for him. Realizing he couldn't stay, he went back to the rebel camp. They accepted him this time.

Education and New Ideas

When he was 16, Arenas received a scholarship. He went to a school that used to be a military camp. There, he studied Marxist–Leninism, which was a big part of the school's teaching. He learned about the ideas of communism. Arenas later said this schooling was like "communist indoctrination". He graduated as an agricultural accountant.

Life in Havana

In 1960, Arenas first visited Havana, the capital city. He later moved there to study at the University of Havana. He also worked for a government organization called INRA.

Around 1963, Arenas started facing challenges because of his personal life choices. He worried about being sent to places called Military Units to Aid Production (UMAPs). These were like camps for people who didn't fit in with the government's ideas.

Facing Government Control

Arenas saw many friends become government informers. They would report on others to stay safe. He saw this happen with a writer named Herberto Padilla. Padilla wrote a book that was critical of the Cuban government.

In 1971, Padilla was arrested. After 30 days, he publicly apologized for his work. He also blamed his friends and wife, saying they had ideas against the revolution. Those he named were then forced to do the same.

Becoming a Writer

In 1963, Arenas moved to Havana to study philosophy and literature. The next year, he started working at the Biblioteca Nacional José Martí (National Library). He had shown a short story to a committee, and they were impressed.

The director of the library, María Teresa Freye de Andrade, helped him get a job there. Later, when the library's leadership changed, Arenas decided to leave. Around this time, his writing talent was noticed. He won an award for his novel, Singing from the Well.

Conflicts and Imprisonment

By 1967, Arenas's writings and personal life choices caused problems with the communist government. He left the National Library and worked as an editor for a while.

In 1974, he was sent to prison. He was accused of having "wrong ideas" and publishing his work outside Cuba without permission. He tried to escape by floating on a tire inner tube, but he was caught. He was imprisoned at El Morro Castle.

To survive in prison, he helped other inmates write letters. This way, he collected enough paper to keep writing his own stories. However, his attempts to sneak his work out of prison were discovered. He was punished severely. Under threat, he was forced to say he would stop writing. He was released in 1976.

Escape to the United States

In 1980, Arenas was able to leave Cuba during the Mariel Boatlift. This was when many Cubans were allowed to leave for the United States. He arrived on a boat called San Lázaro.

Later Life and Legacy

In 1987, Reinaldo Arenas was diagnosed with AIDS. He continued to write and speak out against the Cuban government. He also helped many other Cuban writers who had left Cuba.

Arenas passed away on December 7, 1990, in New York City. In 2012, he was honored by being included in the Legacy Walk. This is a public display that celebrates important people in LGBT history.

Important Writings

Even though his life was short and difficult, Arenas wrote many important works. Besides his poems, his Pentagonia is a series of five novels. These books tell a "secret history" of Cuba after the revolution.

The Pentagonia includes:

• Singing from the Well
• Farewell to the Sea
• Palace of the White Skunks
• The Color of Summer
• The Assault

Arenas's writing style changed a lot in these books. He used realistic stories, experimental writing, and funny, absurd humor. His second novel, Hallucinations, retells the story of an old priest named Fray Servando Teresa de Mier.

Connecting Life and Art

In his interviews and books, Arenas often linked his own life to the characters in his stories. Critics have pointed out that characters like the child in "Celestino" and others seem to live through different stages of a continuous life story, much like Arenas's own.

Arenas also connected his personal story to the experiences of a whole generation of Cubans. A main idea in his books is criticizing the Castro government. He also criticized some writers he felt had betrayed him.

His autobiography, Before Night Falls, was named one of the ten best books of 1993 by The New York Times. In 2000, this book was made into a film. The actor Javier Bardem played Reinaldo Arenas in the movie. An opera based on the book also premiered in 2010.

Reinaldo Arenas's personal papers are kept at Princeton University Library. They include his writings, essays, interviews, and letters.

Notable works

• El mundo alucinante (1966) ISBN: 978-84-8310-775-1 (English: Hallucinations)
• Cantando en el pozo (1982) (originally Celestino antes del alba (1967)) (English: Singing from the Well)
• El palacio de las blanquisimas mofetas (1982) (English: The Palace of the White Skunks)
• Otra vez el mar (1982) (English: Farewell to the Sea)
• El color del verano (1982) (English: The Color of Summer)
• El Asalto (1990) (English: The Assault)
• El portero (1987) (English: The Doorman)
• Antes que anochezca (1992) (English: Before Night Falls)
• Mona and Other Tales (2001) (English translation of short stories)
• Con los ojos cerrados (1972)
• La vieja Rosa (1980) (English: Old Rosa)
• El central (1981)
• 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: Graveyard of the Angels)
• Voluntad de vivir manifestándose (1989)
• Viaje a La Habana (1990)
• Final de un cuento (El Fantasma de la glorieta) (1991)
• Adiós a mamá (1996)

See also

In Spanish: Reinaldo Arenas para niños

• American literature in Spanish
• Cuban American literature
• Cuban dissident movement
• List of Famous Cuban-Americans
• List of Cuban American writers
• LGBT rights in Cuba