Alonso Montano/Contributing Writer
This week, the Cuban Research Institute at the University will host a special lecture honoring the Cuban poetry of Alfonso Camin, a Spanish poet whose significant influence on the country’s literary history is virtually unknown due to the rejection of his works by the island’s strict regime.
The Spanish poet spent many years in Cuba writing about the country’s cultural identity and its black culture. The event will examine his contributions to Cuban Criollismo during the 20th century and his central role as one of the fathers of Afro-Cuban literature.
Co-sponsored by the Florida International University Initiative for Spanish and Mediterranean Studies, the lecture will focus on introducing Camin’s literary works to our collective consciousness while emphasizing the importance of keeping his poetic legacy a part of Cuba’s literary patrimony.
“It’s open to the public and it’s free,” said Jorge Duany, director of the Cuban Research Institute. Duany also pointed out that the event will be completely in Spanish, so anyone wishing to attend should be aware of this.
The event will be presented by Victor Puertodan, a writer, poet and literary critic.
Puertodan has studied Alfonso Camin’s works and literary contributions for over 25 years and has dedicated much of his life to making Camin’s poetry available to the public. He is the founding president of the Alfonso Camin Literary Association and director of the Espaciarte Literary Workshops in Valencia, Spain.
Puertodan is hoping the public will learn why Camin’s poetry is significant to Cuba’s literary culture and history.
“When the [Cuban] Revolution took over, they were not supportive of Camin and the idea of having a Spaniard as the father of Afro-Cuban literature. So as a consequence, most of his works were forgotten for many years,” said Puertodan.
“His works are completely unheard of in Cuba,” he said. “His achievements and the legacy that this Spanish poet left are unknown in the island.”
According to Puertodan, one of Camin’s most important contributions to Cuban literature is the introduction of Afro-Cubans as central characters in literary works.
“His treatment of black women and Cuban mulatas is not that of simply a racial minority, but his works highlight the importance of black women and black men in the formation of the Cuban national identity,” Puertodan said.
Last year, Victor Puertodan published the book “Primer Acercamiento Critico a la Obra del Poeta de Asturias, Alfonso Camin,” and produced the musical album “En Dos Aires,” a project of Cuban artists who set to music the poems of the Spanish poet. A few of the tracks from “En Dos Aires” will be used during the event to present some of Camin’s poems.
The lecture will be held on Oct. 15 at 12 p.m. in the Green Library, room 220. The event is free and open to the public. For more information and to RSVP, students can call (305) 348-1991 or write to cri@fiu.edu.
“We want to give this literary patrimony back to Cuba,” said Puertodan. “In this particular case, here in South Florida where the Cuban presence is heavily felt, we think presenting this is fundamental.”
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