Why Reinaldo Arenas Still Matters for Cuba's LGBT Community
Why Reinaldo Arenas Still Matters for Cuba's LGBT Community
By
Brendan O'Boyle
Twenty-six years after his death, the persecuted author's legacy can provide lessons and inspiration for LGBT Cubans.
On Dec. 7, 1990, the Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, suffering from advanced AIDS, ended his life after a decade spent in exile in the United States. Arenas had become a vocal opponent of the Cuban government and, in his suicide note, personally blamed Fidel Castro for the poverty and displacement that defined much of his adult life. The openly gay writer fought tirelessly against the homophobia that had in effect become institutionalized in Cuba in the two...
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