Raúl Rivero

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Raúl Rivero

Raúl Rivero Castañeda (born November 23, 1945 in Morón , Cuba ) is a Cuban poet , journalist , dissident and former political prisoner who has lived in exile in Spain since his release .

Advancement as a journalist and poet

Raúl Rivero studied journalism at the University of Havana and was one of the first 21 graduates of this course in 1969, whose students had to go through a strict selection process controlled by the Communist Party . While still a student he began to write for the newspaper Juventud Rebelde published by the communist youth association and the magazine Alma Máter published by the student association FEU , as well as for the cultural page of the Cuban magazine El Mundo . In 1966 he co-founded the satirical magazine Caimán Barbudo . After graduating, he worked full-time as a journalist, initially from 1969 for the international magazine Cuba Internacional . From 1973 to 1976 he was a correspondent for the official Cuban news agency Prensa Latina in Moscow and from 1977 its head of the “Culture and Science” department in Havana . After he had tried to terminate his employment at Prensa Latina , he worked until 1981 within the Cuban Writers and Artists Association (UNEAC) as personal assistant to its chairman Nicolás Guillén and at the same time as secretary for public relations and publications. He has also published articles in the magazines Bohemia , Unión , Casa de las Américas and Gaceta de Cuba .

In addition to his journalistic work, Rivero wrote poetry. His volume of poetry entitled " Papel de hombre " (The Role of Man) was awarded by the UNEAC in 1969 and subsequently published as a first work. Rivero's works were later translated into eight languages.

Rivero's "socially critical poetry is permeated with powerful spontaneity, occasionally with dry irony."

In 1980 he caused a scandal at a literary award ceremony in the Casa de las Américas cultural center , when he was drunk and loudly insulting the two highest representatives of the Cuban cultural scene and then his wife at the time, who wanted to hold back his self-destructive outburst, in front of the eyes of the gathered celebrities dropped down a flight of stairs with a bump. According to his own statement, he had previously learned that the Ministry of Culture had informed the jury of the literary competition that the volume of poetry he had submitted as a contribution had “an ideological problem”. As a result, Rivero was excluded from the influential circles of the cultural industry until his long-time friend Norberto Fuentes, who had in the meantime gained influence through personal relationships with the state leadership , helped to rehabilitate him socially from the mid-1980s: Rivero accompanied Fuentes in 1988 as a war correspondent in Angola and became Fuentes introduced Defense Minister Raúl Castro , with whom he quickly became friends. In his holiday home, however, after another excess of alcohol, he broke a taboo by trying to approach Raúl's daughters and vehemently criticizing Fidel Castro's policies, whereupon a little later - according to his own statement - the Politburo of the Communist Party imposed an unspoken professional ban and again was socially isolated.

Break with the Castro regime

In 1989, the year of the final political upheaval in the then socialist brother states of Cuba in Eastern Europe, Rivero announced his resignation from the UNEAC writers' union shortly after the controversial execution of the popular Angola war hero General Arnaldo Ochoa and other officers. With no prospect of employment, Rivero and his wife lived off the illegal trade in sandals and cigars and sold their car. In 1991 he wrote the “Letter of the Ten” together with other intellectuals. In it, the signatories advocate a fundamental change in Cuba. Specific demands included democratic elections and freedom of travel as well as the release of political prisoners, a request for help from United Nations organizations and the re-admission of private farmers' markets to alleviate the drastic shortage of food. This led to an open break with the ruling regime , which had been led by Fidel Castro since the victory of the revolution in 1959 . In the same year Rivero declared that he no longer wanted to work for the country's state-controlled media. In 1992 he began writing for foreign newspapers. In 1995 he managed to get rid of the alcohol abuse that had accompanied his life for at least a decade and a half.

In September 1995, Rivero founded the independent news agency Cuba Press . This made independent free journalism possible for the first time in Cuba, which encouraged other independent news agencies (including Cubanet and Cubanacán ), some of which are still active despite state repression. In 1997, Rivero was the only one of the ten original signatories of the 1991 Open Letter from the Intellectuals who, despite state-organized acts of intimidation, the so-called Actos de Repudio , as well as arrests, house searches and interrogations, had not yet left his country for exile. After a three-day interrogation by the Cuban State Security, Rivero reported in August 1997 that the officials had "emphatically suggested" that he should stop his journalistic activities and travel abroad. Since 1995 the international human rights organization Amnesty International has drawn attention to repressive measures taken by the Cuban authorities against Rivero on several occasions. Rivero had been arrested several times since 1996 but had not been charged with any offense.

Political detention

As part of the wave of arrests of the Black Spring ( Primavera Negra ) in 2003, Raúl Rivero was imprisoned with over 74 other writers, journalists, scientists and other intellectuals . He was charged with, among other things, "offenses against Cuban independence and the attempt to split the territorial unit", writing activities "against the government" and organizing "subversive meetings" in his apartment as well as working with the US diplomat James Cason . In a fast-track trial lasting only six hours, he and another opposition journalist were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Prior to his arrest, he had written regularly for several US and European newspapers and, as regional vice-president for Cuba, was rapporteur for the Committee on Freedom of the Press of the Inter-American Press Association SIP / IAPA.

His wife Blanca Reyes founded the human rights group Damas de Blanco (women in white) together with relatives of other prisoners at the same time in order to campaign publicly for the release of the prisoners. She later became the group's spokesperson in Europe and founded the support organization Asociación Damas de Blanco . Rivero's case has been examined and documented by Amnesty International, and he and the rest of the Black Spring convicts have been declared a prisoner of conscience, which the organization has since been campaigning for his release.

After international protests, in which states and human rights organizations as well as the PEN Club took part , including prominent writers such as Václav Havel and Günter Grass , Raúl Rivero was released in 2004 after 20 months of imprisonment, citing health reasons with 14 other political prisoners .

exile

Rivero has lived in Madrid since December 2004 . Until 2009 he was a member of the editorial board of the magazine Encuentro de la Cultura Cubana (Meeting of Cuban Culture), which was made by Cubans in exile from all over the world . Together with other former Encuentro employees, he started the Internet publication Diario de Cuba at the end of 2009 , on which he has regularly published articles as a member of the editorial team. Since 2005 he has worked as a columnist for the daily newspaper El Mundo in Spain and for El Nuevo Herald in the USA. He is also the Vice-President of the Fundación Hispano Cubana (Spanish-Cuban Foundation) and is chairman of the Immigration Council of the City of Madrid. Based in Spain, he was a member of the Committee for Press Freedom and Information of the Inter-American Press Association SIP / IAPA for several years, and served as its regional vice-president for Cuba until his arrest in 2003.

In May 2012 he, his (fourth and current) wife Blanca Reyes and his daughter were granted Spanish citizenship . His first wife lives in the USA with another daughter.

Awards

  • 1969: David Prize of the Cuban State Union of Artists and Writers UNEAC for his first publication Papel de hombre (The Role of Man)
  • 1972: UNEAC Julián del Casal Prize for the volume of poetry Poesía sobre la tierra
  • 1980: Journalism Prize July 26th from the Cuban Journalists Association for Poesía Pública
  • 1997: Reporters Without Borders Human Rights Award
  • 1999: Maria Moors Cabot Prize for International Journalism from Columbia University (New York)
  • 2004: UNESCO Guillermo Cano Prize for Freedom of the Press
  • 2004: Agustín Merello Prize for Communication from the Press Association of the Province of Cádiz
  • 2005: International Prize of the Cristóbal Gabarrón Foundation ( Valladolid ) in the Ideas and Humanities category
  • 2005: Award from the Strasbourg Press Club
  • 2005: Madrid City Tolerance Prize
  • 2007: Journalism Prize José Ortega y Gasset of the newspaper El País in the category "Best informative work"

Works

  • Papel de hombre , 1968
  • Poesía sobre la tierra , 1970
  • Corazón que ofrecer , 1978
  • La nieve vencida , Havana: Girón, 1980
  • Poesía pública , Havana: UNEAC, 1983
  • Cierta poesía , 1984
  • Escribo de Memoria , 1985
  • Firmado en La Habana , Miami, 1996
  • Herejías elegidas. Antología poética , Barcelona: Betania, 1998, ISBN 978-84-8017-086-4
  • Pruebas de contacto , Miami: Sibi, 1999, ISBN 978-0-9742473-0-4
  • Ojo, pinta. Pintores cubanos en el periodo especial , Miami, 2000
  • Antología (PDF; 371 kB), Arquitrave, 2002
  • Puente de Guitarra , Puebla: Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, 2002, ISBN 978-968-86358-7-2
  • Recuerdos olvidados , Madrid: Hiperión, 2003, ISBN 978-84-7517-764-9
  • Sin pan y sin palabras: A favor de la libertad en Cuba , Barcelona: Península, 2003, ISBN 978-84-8307-585-2
  • Lesiones de historia , Aduana Vieja, 2005, ISBN 978-84-934095-4-8
  • Vidas y oficios: Los poemas de la cárcel , Madrid, 2006, ISBN 978-84-8307-732-0

Web links

Literature and films about Rivero

  • Beat Bieri and Ruedi Leuthold: News from Fidel's Prison , documentary, 53 minutes, 2004, produced for Swiss television, broadcast in March 2004 on SF1 and in June 2004 on 3sat
  • Ruedi Leuthold: Norberto Fuentes & Raúl Rivero in: Der Tagesspiegel from July 15, 2001, page 3

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b ROG Human Rights Award 1997 for Raúl Rivero in: Newsletter Reporters Without Borders from December 1997, accessed on May 7, 2012
  2. ↑ a b c Antonio Llarca: Entrevista a Raúl Rivero: Lesiones de historia in: Misceláneas de Cuba from April 2008, accessed on May 7, 2012 (Spanish)
  3. ↑ a b c PEN American Center: Cuba: Raúl Rivero ( Memento of the original dated June 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. accessed on May 7, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.pen.org
  4. ↑ a b Harold Alvarado Tenorio: Conversando con Raúl Rivero in: Página Digital from May 7, 2010, accessed on May 7, 2012 (Spanish)
  5. ↑ a b Cristóbal Gabarrón Foundation: Premio Internacional FCG de Pensamiento y Humanidades 2005: Raúl Rivero ( Memento of the original from January 23, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Presentation of the award winner on the website of the organizer, accessed on May 7, 2012 (Spanish) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.premiosinternacionalesfcg.org
  6. ↑ Ole Schulz in " Publik-Forum "
  7. ↑ a b c d e f Ruedi Leuthold: Norberto Fuentes & Raúl Rivero in: Der Tagesspiegel from July 15, 2001, page 3
  8. ↑ a b Ruedi Leuthold: Cuba: Feeding the monsters in: The time of May 6, 2004, accessed on May 8, 2012
  9. ↑ Declaración de los Intelectuales de 1991 in the Carta de Cuba blog of June 10, 2006, accessed on October 2, 2011 (Spanish)
  10. ↑ Reporters Without Borders: Human Rights Award for Cuban Journalists in: ROG Aktuell, December 9, 1997, accessed on May 7, 2012
  11. ↑ Amnesty International: Cuba: Further information on prisoners of conscience / legal concern press release of August 18, 1997, accessed on May 7, 2012 (English)
  12. ↑ Amnesty International: Cuba: Further information on arbitrary arrest / possible prisoners of conscience press release of July 24, 1995, accessed on May 7, 2012
  13. ↑ a b Amnesty International: Cuba: "Essential measures"? Human rights crackdown in the name of security investigation report dated June 2, 2003, accessed May 7, 2012
  14. ↑ Mauricio Vicent: El poeta Raúl Rivero, condenado a 20 años de cárcel en Cuba por "actividades subversivas" in: El País of April 8, 2003, accessed on May 7, 2012 (Spanish)
  15. ↑ Antonio Lucas: '... Pero si hay garantías, volveré a Cuba' in: El Mundo from May 4, 2012, accessed on May 7, 2012 (Spanish)
  16. ↑ Asociación Damas de Blanco: Quiénes Somos ( Memento of the original from March 9, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Self-presentation on the damasdeblanco.org website, accessed on May 7, 2012 (Spanish) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.damasdeblanco.org
  17. ↑ Interview by Ole Schulz with Raúl Rivero in "Publik-Forum" No. 21 v. November 3, 2006
  18. ↑ Fundación Hispano Cubana: Órganos Directivos  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Overview of the Foundation staff on the FHC website, accessed on May 7, 2012 (Spanish)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.hispanocubana.org  
  19. ↑ Foro Regional para la Inmigración de la Comunidad de Madrid accessed on May 7, 2012 (Spanish)
  20. ↑ El Gobierno concede la nacionalidad española al disidente cubano Raúl Rivero , El País of May 4, 2012 (Spanish)
  21. ↑ Los periodistas Ali Lmrabet y Raúl Rivero, premios Agustín Merello de la Comunicación in: El País from April 1, 2004, accessed on May 7, 2012 (Spanish)
  22. ^ Raúl Rivero recibe el premio del Club de la Prensa de Estrasburgo in: Encuentro en la Red of February 2, 2005, accessed on May 7, 2012
  23. ↑ Madrid concede premio `` Reconocimiento de Tolerancia '' a Raúl Rivero in: Crónica of December 2, 2004, accessed on May 7, 2012 (Spanish)
  24. ↑ El column ista de EL MUNDO Raúl Rivero, Premio Ortega y Gasset de Periodismo in: El Mundo on 26 April 2007, accessed May 7, 2012 (Spanish)
  25. ↑ Sandro Benini: Documentary: Viva Raúl in: Die Weltwoche 11/2004, accessed on May 8, 2012
  26. ^ Erwin Dettling: A Swiss documentary with consequences in: Swissinfo from November 15, 2004, accessed on May 8, 2012
personal data
SURNAME Rivero, Raúl
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rivero Castañeda, Raúl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Cuban-Spanish journalist and dissident
DATE OF BIRTH November 23, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Morón , Cuba