“The difference between the communist and capitalist systems is that, although both give you a kick in the ass, in the communist system you have to applaud, while in the capitalist system you can scream.” - Reinaldo Arenas, 1980
On December 7, 1990 Cuban novelist Reinaldo Arenas killed himself in New York City, after battling AIDS for several years. He was an important critic of the Castro regime, and those intellectuals who supported it. As a Gay man he also suffered discrimination because of the communist dictatorship's hostility to homosexuals.
Reinaldo left behind an autobiography, Before Night Falls which proved a powerful denunciation of Fidel Castro’s regime. He also left behind a suicide letter:
"Due to my delicate state of health and to the terrible depression that 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 abroad as well as on the Island to continue fighting for freedom. ... Cuba will be free. I already am.
This
autobiography was adapted into a film by Julian Schnabel in 2000 with
Javier Bardem, Johnny Depp and Sean Penn with the same title.
Thirty years ago the world lost a great writer, and Cuban who sought to live in freedom. His writings endure three decades later, and so does the desire to see a free Cuba. The artists that have stood up to the dictatorship in Havana in defense of freedom of expression are the offspring of Reinaldo Arenas.
They are his legacy.
— Cubanet 🇨🇺 (@CubanetNoticias) December 7, 2020
"I am a dissident in every sense: I am not religious, I am homosexual and at the same time I am anti-Castro." On the 30th anniversary of the death of the Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas Cubanet remembers his participation in the documentary "Havana" by filmmaker Jana Boková.
Below we remember some of his words that remain relevant today.
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