Daína Chaviano () (born 19 February 1957,

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

)Profile
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Accessed April 9, 2015. is a

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or ...

writer of French and Asturian descent. She has lived in the United States since 1991. She is considered one of the three most important female fantasy and science fiction writers in the Spanish language, along with

Angélica Gorodischer Angélica Gorodischer (28 July 1928 – 5 February 2022) was an Argentine writer who was known for her short stories, which belong to a wide variety of genres, including science-fiction, fantasy, crime and stories with a feminist perspective. ...

(Argentina) and

Elia Barceló Elia Barceló or Elia Eisterer-Barceló (born 29 January 1957) is a Spanish academic and author who lives in Austria. Life Barceló was born in Elda in 1957. She became an academic and earned her doctorate in Innsbruck, Austria in 1995. She rem ...

(Spain), forming the so-called “feminine trinity of science fiction in Ibero-America.” In Cuba, she published several science fiction and fantasy books, becoming the most renowned and best-selling author in those genres in Cuban literature.Toledano, Juan C. "Daína Chaviano", in Darrell B. Lockhart (ed.), ''Latin American Science Fiction Writers: An A-to-Z Guide'', Greenwood Press, 2004, pp. 54–55.

Biography

She was born in Havana, the eldest of four children of an

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

father, and a mother with two Ph.D.: one in Philosophy and Letters, and the other in

Psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

.Fernández, Manuel and Trimberger, Michael. "Ecos de un pasado que se niega a morir". ''Caribe: Revista de Cultura y Literatura/Caribbean: Journal of Culture and Literature'', Vol. 12, No. 1, Summer 2009, pp. 71–80. Marquette University & University of North Florida. Moreno, Sarah. "Daína Chaviano: sus pasiones y fantasías". ''El Nuevo Herald. Suplemento de Artes y Letras'', 29 April 2007. When she had barely begun her university studies, she won the first science fiction competition ever organized in Cuba with her short story collection ''Los mundos que amo'' (''The Worlds I Love''), in 1979. After the book was published (1980), the main story was adapted and published as a photonovel in 1982, selling 200,000 copies in 3 months, an unprecedented fact that started her popularity as an author. The plot – almost the same in the short story and in its photonovel version – has been considered "an editorial phenomenon" that "questioned the hierarchical structures that the governing institutions of the revolutionary culture imposed in the literary field as early as 1960".Porbén, Pedro Pablo. "Fotonovela, ciencia ficción y revolución en ''Los mundos que amo''." ''Revista Iberoamericana'', Vol. LXXVIII, Nos. 238–239, January–June 2012, pp. 225–243. This sales record "broke with an editorial logic that considered science fiction as a minor genre." After earning a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature at the University of Havana, she established the first science fiction literary workshop in her country, which she named “Oscar Hurtado” in honor of the father of that genre on the Caribbean island. Herrera-Mulligan, Michelle. "When Sci-Fi Meets Sexy". ''Críticas Magazine'', January/February 2004, pp. 24–26. In 1991, she left Cuba, establishing residency in the United States, where she worked as a translator, columnist, and editor. In 1998, she achieved international recognition when she was awarded the Azorín Prize for Best Novel in Spain for ''El hombre, la hembra y el hambre''. This work forms part of her series «The Occult Side of Havana», together with ''Casa de juegos'', ''Gata encerrada'', and ''La isla de los amores infinitos'' (''

The Island of Eternal Love ''The Island of Eternal Love'' is a 2006 novel by Cuban author Daína Chaviano. The plot is a family saga that takes place along two parallel lines: one during our time and another that begins in the 1850s. The modern story revolves around the ...

'', Riverhead Books, 2008). The series has been described as “the most coherent novelistic project of its generation, indispensable for understanding the social psychology and spiritual vicissitudes of the Cuban people.”''Literatura cubana en el exilio'' . Retrieved 10 July 2008. ''

'' has been published in 26 languages, making it the most widely translated Cuban novel of all time. In 2007, the novel was awarded the gold medal at the

Florida Book Award The Florida Book Awards are a set of annual statewide literary awards that recognize Floridian authors and books about Florida published in the previous year. Established in 2006, the awards are administered by the Florida State University Librarie ...

s, in the category Best Book in Spanish Language. In 2004, she was the guest of honor at the 25th International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA) in the United States. It was the first time that honor had ever been conferred on a Spanish-language writer. In November 2014, she was the guest of honor during the University Book Fair in

Tabasco Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It is located in ...

(

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

), where she received the Malinalli National Award for the Promotion of Arts, Human Rights and Cultural Diversity, which until then had only received figures of Mexican culture and society. It was the first time this award was given to an international figure. Her short story collection, ''Extraños testimonios'', was published in 2017. In an interview, Chaviano classified the genre of this work as "Caribbean Gothic", as it brings together "elements of horror, absurdity, eroticism, and a certain dose of humor à la Cortázar, amidst tropical and sunny environments, specifically in the Caribbean." In 2019, her historical thriller ''Los hijos de la Diosa Huracán'' was published by Grijalbo, the Spanish imprint of Penguin Random House. The novel, which required more than a decade of research work, recreates and rescues the Taínos' world, following the trail and paying homage to the legacy of the main Caribbean indigenous culture. Hence the importance of Taino

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

in the novel, especially the symbolism of their three main goddesses:

Atabey Atabey is a town and district of Isparta Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on ...

Guabancex Guabancex is the zemi or deity of chaos and disorder which the Taíno natives in Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Cuba, Arawak natives elsewhere in the Caribbean. She was described as a mercurial goddess that controlled the weather, conjur ...

, and Iguanaboína. In 2020, the novel was awarded the gold medal at the

s 2019 contest, in the category Best Book in Spanish Language, making Chaviano the only writer to twice receive the award in that category. Her ''País de dragones'', which was published in Colombia in 2021, won the Los Mejores de

Banco del Libro Banco del Libro is a non-profit organization for the promotion of children's literature, with headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela. It was established in 1960 as a centre for the exchange of textbooks – hence the name Banco del Libro (Book Bank) ...

, an award given to the best books for children and young people published in Spanish anywhere in the world. Chaviano has been a guest lecturer and visiting author at several universities and colleges, like

Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...

(2007),

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

(2014),

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College S ...

(2016), and

University of North Georgia The University of North Georgia (UNG) is a public senior military college with multiple campuses in Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia. The university was established on January 8, 2013 by a merger of North Georgia College ...

(2017). She is a cousin of

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

actor

César Évora César Évora Díaz (; born November 4, 1959, in Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban actor. Biography Évora started his career in Cuba appearing in more than ten movies before moving to Mexico in the early 1990s. He became known for playing minor roles ...

Literary influences

Her literary influences derive fundamentally from the Celtic world, from diverse mythologies, and from the principal epics of ancient peoples. Among these sources one can find the Arthurian cycle; Greek, Roman, Egyptian, pre-Columbian and Afro-Cuban myths; and humankind's first epics, dating back to prehistory, such as the ''

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia, and is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with ...

'', the ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

'', the ''

Popol Vuh ''Popol Vuh'' (also ''Popol Wuj'' or ''Popul Vuh'' or ''Pop Vuj'') is a text recounting the mythology and history of the Kʼicheʼ people, one of the Maya peoples, who inhabit Guatemala and the Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and ...

'', the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...

'', and other similar works.Mayor Marsán, Maricel. ”Daína Chaviano: Entre la ciencia ficción y lo sobrenatural”. ''Revista Baquiana'', año VI, Nº 33/34, enero/abril 2005, pp. 193–199. The author has said she has no affinity with Cuban literature. She has stated that, with the exception of authors such as

Manuel Mujica Laínez Manuel Mujica LainezIn fact, the writer himself spelled his surnames without accents, as all his books published during his lifetime show. (11 September 1910 – 21 April 1984) was an Argentine novelist, essayist and art critic. He is mainly ...

and

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...

,Triff, Soren. ”La maldición de escribir en Miami”. ''Catálogo de Letras'', Miami. Número 13, 1998, pp. 6–7. her only point of contact with Latin America is pre-Columbian mythology. Her passion for Anglo-Saxon literature was so strong that, when she entered the university, she decided to major in English literature so that she could read many of these authors in their original language. Daína Chaviano's works have been described as “bold experiments that break down the boundaries between genres.”

Works in English

:* 2019: "Dolores" (short story, trans. by Marilyn G. Miller), in ''Island in the Light / Isla en la luz'' (bilingüal anthology of literary works inspired by contemporary Cuban art), ed. by L. Padura, W. Guerra & C. Garaicoa, Miami: tra.Publishing. :* 2017: "Accursed Lineage" (short story, trans. by Matthew David Goodwin), in ''Latin@ Rising: An Anthology of Latin@ Science Fiction and Fantasy'', ed. by Matthew David Goodwin, Texas: Wings Press. :* 2008: ''

'' (trans. Andrea Labinger). New York: Riverhead Books-Penguin Group.Laura Dail Literary Agency News
. :* 2003: "The Annunciation" (short story, trans. by Juan Carlos Toledano), in Andrea L. Bell & Yolanda Molina-Gavilán (eds), ''Cosmos Latinos: An Anthology of Science Fiction from Latin America and Spain'', Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press.

Works in Spanish

Outside Cuba: :* 2019: ''Los hijos de la Diosa Huracán'' (novel). Grijalbo, Spain. :* 2018: ''Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre'' (novel). Huso, Spain. :* 2017: ''El abrevadero de los dinosaurios'' (short stories). Huso, Spain. :* 2017: ''Extraños testimonios'' (short stories). Huso, Spain. :* 2007: ''Historias de hadas para adultos'' (novellas). Minotauro, Spain. :* 2006: '' La isla de los amores infinitos'' (novel). Grijalbo, Spain. :* 2005: ''El abrevadero de los dinosaurios'' (short stories). Nueva Imagen, Mexico. :* 2004: ''Los mundos que amo'' (short novel). Alfaguara, Colombia. :* 2003: ''Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre'' (novel). Oceano, Mexico. :* 2001: ''País de dragones'' (short stories). Espasa Juvenil, Spain. :* 2001: ''Gata encerrada'' (novel). Planeta, Spain. :* 1999: ''Casa de juegos'' (novel). Planeta, Spain. :* 1998: ''El hombre, la hembra y el hambre'' (novel). Planeta, Spain. :* 1994: ''Confesiones eróticas y otros hechizos'' (poetry). Betania, Spain. In Cuba: :* 1990: ''El abrevadero de los dinosaurios'' (short stories). :* 1989: ''La anunciación'' (film script). :* 1988: ''Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre'' (novel). :* 1986: ''Historias de hadas para adultos'' (novellas). :* 1983: ''Amoroso planeta'' (short stories). :* 1980: ''Los mundos que amo'' (short stories).

Awards and Recognitions

:* 2022: Winner at Los Mejores de Banco del Libro (Venezuela), for ''País de dragones''. :* 2020: First Place in two categories (Best Popular Fiction and Best Novel Adventure or Drama in Spanish) in the International Latino Book Awards, for ''Los hijos de la Diosa Huracán''. :* 2020: Gold Medal Winner in the

s 2019, for Best Spanish Language Book (USA), for ''Los hijos de la Diosa Huracán''. :* 2017: Guest of Honor at the 12th

North American Science Fiction Convention NASFiC, a.k.a. the North American Science Fiction Convention, is a science fiction convention scheduled only during years where the Worldcon is being held outside the North American continent. NASFiC bids are voted on by the membership of the Wo ...

(San Juan, Puerto Rico). :* 2014: Malinalli National Award 2014 for the Promotion of Arts, Human Rights and Cultural Diversity (Mexico). :* 2014: Guest of Honor at the Tabasco University Book Fair (Mexico). :* 2010:

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

IMPAC Longlist for ''

''. :* 2008: Finalist of the Prix Relay du Roman d'Évasion (France), for ''L'île des amours éternelles'' (''

''). :* 2007: Gold Medal Winner in the

s 2006, for Best Spanish Language Book (USA), for ''La isla de los amores infinitos'' (''

''). :* 2004: Guest of Honor at the 25th Conference held by the

International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA), founded in 1982 is a nonprofit association of scholars, writers, and publishers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in literature, film, and the other arts. Its principal acti ...

, Fort Lauderdale (USA). :* 2003: Goliardos Fantasy International Award (Mexico), for ''Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre''. :* 1998: Azorín Prize for Best Novel (Spain), for ''El hombre, la hembra y el hambre''. :* 1990: Anna Seghers Award, Academy of Arts in Berlin (Germany), for ''Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre''. :* 1989: "La Edad de Oro" (The Golden Age) National Prize for Children's and Young People's Literature (Cuba), for ''País de dragones''. :* 1988: "13 de marzo", Best Literary Film Script (Cuba), for ''La anunciación''. :* 1979: David National Prize for Best SF Book (Cuba), for ''Los mundos que amo''.

Notes

External links

Author's entry in Encyclopaedia BritannicaDaína Chaviano Official Website (Bilingual in English & Spanish)Amazon.com Official Author's Page
*
Daína Chaviano's Page at PenguinGoodRead Author's PageThe Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, John Clute & Peter NicholsBook Trailer of the novel ''The Island of Eternal Love''

Science Fiction Trading Card Spotlight - Daína Chaviano
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chaviano, Daina 20th-century Cuban novelists 20th-century Cuban poets 20th-century Cuban women writers 21st-century Cuban novelists 21st-century Cuban poets 21st-century Cuban women writers 21st-century short story writers 1957 births American people of Asturian descent American Spanish-language poets American Spanish-language writers American writers of Cuban descent Cuban emigrants to the United States Cuban expatriates in the United States Cuban fantasy writers Cuban people of Asturian descent Cuban people of Spanish descent Cuban science fiction writers Cuban short story writers Cuban women novelists Cuban women poets Cuban women short story writers Exiles of the Cuban Revolution in the United States Hispanic and Latino American novelists Living people People from Havana Women science fiction and fantasy writers Writers from Havana

Biography

Literary influences

Works in English

Works in Spanish

Awards and Recognitions

See also

Notes

External links