Jorge Valls Arango (February 2, 1933 – October 22, 2015) was a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n activist and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

of who spent more than two decades in prison for his opposition to

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

. He was born in Mañanan, now part of Havana. He was the son of a

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

father and Cuban mother, and could read and write

. He was first arrested in 1952 while a student at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Havana, when he demonstrated his opposition to the 1952

Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player * Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also ...

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

''. Valls was sentenced to a year in prison on July 22, 1955, for possession of a pipe bomb. University of Havana Chancellor Clemente Inclán persuaded Batista to quickly pardon him. In 1956, he joined the

Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil ( abbreviation: DRE; English: Student Revolutionary Directorate) was a Cuban student activist group which in opposition to Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista from 1954 to 1957 played a role in the Cuban Revolu ...

, a student group fighting the new regime. During the trial of Batista police informant Marcos Rodríguez in 1964, Valls was denounced for having been "a known anti-Communist" in the University of Havana "who demanded that the

be an anti-Communist organization, and that Jorge Valls pronounced for the expulsion of Communist students from the university struggles." He was later a

Christian socialist Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe capi ...

. He was arrested in April 1964 after testifying on behalf of Batista police informant Marcos Rodríguez, with whom he had "a great friendship" and "a great affinity" between 1955 and 1959. The prosecutor accused Valls of "not being a revolutionary," of "defending" Rodríguez and "believing that he is innocent." He spent more than 20 years behind bars in many Cuban prisons and was released in 1984. After his release, he moved to

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

where in 1986, he wrote a book ''Twenty Years and Forty Days: Life in a Cuban Prison'', in which he speaks about his experiences behind bars. He also published a couple of poem books in Spanish including ''Donde estoy no hay luz y está enrejado''. He was the international secretary of the Democratic Social-Revolutionary Party of Cuba. He died of cancer in 2015.

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Article by Jorge Valls
1933 births 2015 deaths Cuban people of Catalan descent Opposition to Fidel Castro Cuban male poets Cuban socialists Leaders of political parties in Cuba People from Havana North American Christian socialists {{Cuba-activist-stub