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| He turned to journalism to make a living, where his voracious reading provided him with a much better education than he would have received in the university. After the ] coup in 1952, he became involved with the "Movimiento 26 de Julio" which was directed by ]. He was jailed and tortured by Batista's repressive regime. On his release, he went into exile in ] and ], but was soon drafted back by Castro to the Sierra Maestra to head "Revolución", the guerrilla movement's clandestine newspaper and "Radio Rebelde", their clandestine radio station. | He turned to journalism to make a living, where his voracious reading provided him with a much better education than he would have received in the university. After the ] coup in 1952, he became involved with the "Movimiento 26 de Julio" which was directed by ]. He was jailed and tortured by Batista's repressive regime. On his release, he went into exile in ] and ], but was soon drafted back by Castro to the Sierra Maestra to head "Revolución", the guerrilla movement's clandestine newspaper and "Radio Rebelde", their clandestine radio station. | ||
| On the triumph of the revolution in 1959, he was placed in charge of "Revolución", which became a semi-official paper. Soon, he began having problems due to his independent attitude. This made him leave Cuba and become a sort of unofficial ambassador to Europe. There, he met artists and intellectuals, such as ], ], Calder, ], and many others, who he invited to Cuba. Having resigned from the paper, he dedicated himself to art, organizing the famous "Salón de Mayo" exhibit in ] (1967), where all leading artists in the world were represented. | On the triumph of the revolution in 1959, he was placed in charge of "Revolución", which became a semi-official paper. Soon, he began having problems due to his independent attitude. This made him leave Cuba and become a sort of unofficial ambassador to Europe. There, he met artists and intellectuals, such as ], ], ], ], and many others, who he invited to Cuba. Having resigned from the paper, he dedicated himself to art, organizing the famous "Salón de Mayo" exhibit in ] (1967), where all leading artists in the world were represented. | ||
| Throughout this time, he continued to have problems because of his dissident attitude. Eventually, he was allowed to leave Cuba with his family and settled in ]. In 1968, he officially broke with the Castro regime when he signed a letter condemning the ] invasion of ]. | Throughout this time, he continued to have problems because of his dissident attitude. Eventually, he was allowed to leave Cuba with his family and settled in ]. In 1968, he officially broke with the Castro regime when he signed a letter condemning the ] invasion of ]. | ||
Revision as of 22:19, 4 July 2005
Carlos Franqui (born 1921) is a Cuban writer, poet, journalist, art critic and revolutionary.
Born in a cane field, he was able to enter a vocational school, where he joined the Communist Party. He gave up the opportunity to enter the University of Havana to become a professional organizer for the party at the age of 20. After successfully organizing the party in several small towns, he broke with the organization and became an unaffiliated leftist.
He turned to journalism to make a living, where his voracious reading provided him with a much better education than he would have received in the university. After the Batista coup in 1952, he became involved with the "Movimiento 26 de Julio" which was directed by Fidel Castro. He was jailed and tortured by Batista's repressive regime. On his release, he went into exile in Mexico and Florida, but was soon drafted back by Castro to the Sierra Maestra to head "Revolución", the guerrilla movement's clandestine newspaper and "Radio Rebelde", their clandestine radio station.
On the triumph of the revolution in 1959, he was placed in charge of "Revolución", which became a semi-official paper. Soon, he began having problems due to his independent attitude. This made him leave Cuba and become a sort of unofficial ambassador to Europe. There, he met artists and intellectuals, such as Picasso, Miró, Calder, Sartre, and many others, who he invited to Cuba. Having resigned from the paper, he dedicated himself to art, organizing the famous "Salón de Mayo" exhibit in Havana (1967), where all leading artists in the world were represented.
Throughout this time, he continued to have problems because of his dissident attitude. Eventually, he was allowed to leave Cuba with his family and settled in Italy. In 1968, he officially broke with the Castro regime when he signed a letter condemning the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
After his definitive exile, his literary production increased markedly. He has written several major historic accounts of the Cuban Revolution ("El Libro de los Doce", "Diario de la Revolución Cubana") Another facet of his production are a number of very high quality combinations of poems and graphic arts, in which he has collaborated with Miró, Tapies, Calder and others, several books of poetry and several narrative works on art (some edited in Italian under pen names).
He has continued to campaign against repression in Cuba and other countries. As a result, many people dislike him. He is officially branded as a traitor by the Castro government, who accusses him of CIA ties. However, many Cuban exiles in Miami shun him because of his active role in the Cuban revolution.
In the early 1990's he moved to Puerto Rico, where he lives in semi-retirement. Still, in 1996, he founded "Carta de Cuba" a quarterly journal featuring high-quality work produced in Cuba by independent journalists and writers, where he continues to collaborate to date.
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