This led to his arrest and multiple attempts at escape from the country and trips in and out of El Morro where ironically, he claimed a celibate lifestyle.
Arenas began his literary career by entering a storytelling contest. This led to his being given a writing job at the Biblioteca Nacional Jose Marti in 1963. He then produced a number of short novellas. In 1965 at 22 he his first novel Celestino antes del alba (Celestino Before Dawn) which won the First Mention Award at the Cirilo Villaverde National Competition. It was originally published in 1967 by the UNEAC (National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists) and had a limited run of 2000 copies. This work won the 1969 Prix Medici in the country of France. This was the only novel that Arenas published in Cuba.
He left the Biblioteca Nacional in 1968 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. His lack of realism in writing caused him to fall out of favor with revolutionary cultural policy makers. After reading Arena's memoirs and being fascinated by the realism, one wonders what they were driving at.
By the mid-1960s Castro openly persecuted homosexuals, causing Arenas to abandon the Revolution. For this his writings were censored and declared to be anti-revolutionary. Some of his various manuscripts were confiscated. He was soon no longer legally permitted to publish and write in Cuba and this caused him to secretly send his manuscripts abroad.
Unfortunately for Arenas his homosexual lifestyle made things difficult for him. The political climate in Castro's Cuba became increasingly dangerous for dissidents and others who did not fit in as time went on. By the early...
Efficacy and Quality of Cuba's Educational Program Tensions continue to wax and wane between the two countries, but Cuba's economy has largely stabilized and the situation between Castro's country and the United States is also essentially at an impasse (Suddath 2009). The increased stabilization of the Cuban economy and society has led to many internal changes in the country, however, and these have largely been to the benefit of Cuba and
Cuba's Future After Fidel Castro There are many schools of thought when considering the future of Cuba without its leader Fidel Castro. Many think that Cuba is on the cusp of greatness while others warn of coming doom. It can be difficult envisioning the true Cuba from an Americanized point-of-view. Many Americans cannot understand a socialist framework where everyone is treated equal because America is the land of unique opportunity and
Leftist leaders preach a sermon of economic equality, of providing the "little man" with the ability to live the same life as the doctor or engineer - because though he may have less education, his contribution to society in terms of labor (particularly manual labor) is more significant, challenging, and sacrificial than the practice of medicine or law. The sugar-cane farmers and rum producers, the tobacco growers and the
Those officials who did look at the question of Japanese intentions decided that Japan would never attack, because to do so would be irrational. Yet what might seem irrational to one country may seem perfectly logical to another country that has different goals, values, and traditions. (Kessler 98) The failures apparent in the onset of World War II and during the course of the war led indirectly to the creation
("Economics," 2004) What is the role of women in your country deciding reproductive strategies? The total estimated 2004 fertility rate of Cuba was1.66 children born per woman. The de-emphasizing of the Catholic influence in the region is largely thought to have reduced the yearly population growth. Women have free access to birth control, as much as the health care system can be accessed by the individual woman -- however, access as
Comparing a blockade to the first option (air-strike) was a no-brainer. First of all, a guarantee of the airstrike being effective was highly unlikely. At the time, the pinpoint weaponry employed by the present day United States was not available, and in fact such weaponry had not even been invented yet. The Soviet Union, of course, knew that such a course of direction would not be effective and therefore the
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