Reinaldo Arenas

In 1987, he was diagnosed with AIDS but continued writing despite ill health. He also continued his fight against the Cuban regime by speaking against the same.

Unable to bear the depression caused by ill health, he committed suicide on December 7, 1990, in Manhattan, New York.

In 1992, his autobiography titled ‘Before Night Falls’ was published. The book is a touching account of his experiences in Cuba, his imprisonment and escape to the U.S.

Reinaldo Arenas was born in the small town of Holguin in Oriente, Cuba. Soon after his birth, his father abandoned the family and his mother took him to a small rural farm in Oriente.

His mother taught him to write and at the age of six he attended the Rural School 91 in Perronales County. Apart from school, he attended ‘literary evening’, a weekend event where students recited poems.

His family struggled to make ends meet and at the age of 15, he joined the revolutionary rebellion group of Fidel Castro that fought against Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship.

In 1963, he moved to Havana to attend the ‘School of Planification’ and later attended the ‘Universidad de La Habana’, where he studied philosophy and literature.

In 1964, he was invited to work at the ‘Cuban National Library’ after he participated in a story telling contest. This period inspired him to pursue a career in literature.

In 1967, he authored ‘Singing from the Well’, his first publication in the ‘Pentagonia’ series. This was the only novel from the series that was published in Cuba.

In 1966, his novel ‘The Ill-Fated Peregrinations of Fray Servando’ was awarded the second prize by the National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists. The novel was later banned in Cuba.

By 1967, the Communist government opposed his writings due to its homosexual content and he was questioned by the Directorate for State Security, Cuba, following which, his writings were put under strict vigil.

After he quit his job at the Cuban National Library, he was made the editor of the Cuban Book Institute - a position he held until 1968.

‘Pentagonia’, popularly called ‘five agonies’, is a collection of five novels that delineate the ‘secret history’ of post-revolutionary Cuba. Titled, ‘Singing from the Well’, ‘Farewell to the Sea’, ‘Palace of the White Skunks’, ‘Color of Summer’ and ‘The Assault’, the novel series is considered to be his magnum opus which earned him great international fame.

His autobiography ‘Before Night Falls’ was included in New York Times’ list of ten best books of 1993. In 2000, the book was made into an American drama film of the same title, premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival.