Nicolás Guillén

NICOLÁS GUILLÉN (Camagüey, 1902-Havana, 1989).
Handwritten letter, August 5, 1960.
Pencil on paper.
Signed and dated.
Measurements: 27 x 18.5 cm.
Nicolás Guillén Batista was a Cuban poet, journalist and political activist, recognized as the national poet of Cuba. Of Afro-descendant descent, he stood out for incorporating in his work the Afro-Cuban culture, the mestizaje and the national identity, elements that he defined as the "Cuban color".
After the death of his father in 1917, he began to work and collaborate in newspapers and magazines while developing his literary vocation. In the 1930s he achieved great notoriety with works such as Motivos de son and Sóngoro cosongo, which renewed Cuban poetry by integrating popular rhythms and expressions of African origin.
Committed to social and political causes, he joined the Communist Party in 1937 and actively participated in anti-fascist and intellectual movements in America and Europe. During his career he published important books such as West Indies, Ltd., El son entero and El gran zoológico, in which he combined the defense of cultural identity with social criticism.
After the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, he returned to the country and in 1961 was elected president of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), a position he held until his death. He received numerous awards, including Cuba's National Literature Prize and the Lenin Peace Prize. His legacy makes him one of the most influential figures of 20th century Latin American literature.