Cirilo Villaverde

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Cirilo Villaverde, Cuban poet, novelist, journalist and freedom fighter, was born October 28, 1812 in San Diego de Núñez, Cuba, died October 24, 1894 in New York City.

Since 1840 Villaverde participated in the Cuban movement of independence against the Spanish colonial power. He was a secretary to Narciso López, who undertook attempt on insurrection (1850 and 1851) to liberate Cuba from Spain with help from the USA, but failed because of lack of popular support. In 1848 Villaverde was arrested by Spanish soldiers in his own house but was successful to arrange (the next year)his escape and arrived to the USA where he was active politically and worked as the editor and publisher to few different exiles magazines. Particularly his novel Cecilia Valdés (written in 1882) is considered as one of the most important works of the Cuban national literature. Till end of his life he was of a political conviction that fate of Cuba should be connected with the USA and those two countries should be united.

Major Works:

"The Girl with the Golden Arrow" (La joven de la flecha del oro)
"The Farmer" (El Guajiro)
"Cecilia Valdés or the Hill of the Angel" (Cecilia Valdés o La Loma del Angel)