José Triana (4 January 1931 – 4 March 2018) was a Cuban poet and playwright.

Life and career

Born in Hatuey,

Camagüey Province Camagüey () is the largest of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is Camagüey. Other towns include Florida and Nuevitas. Geography Camagüey is mostly low lying, with no major hills or mountain ranges passing through the province. Numerous lar ...

on 4 January 1931, Triana attended the University of Oriente. He moved to Spain in 1954, where he began his career as a playwright. While in Spain, Triana studied at the University of Madrid and theatre with José Franco. Triana later joined the troupe Grupo Didi, and worked as a scenic artist for Teatro Ensayo. Most his early plays were inspired by

Greek tragedy Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy. Greek tragedy is widely believed t ...

. Triana wrote his first play, ''The Major General Will Speak of Theogony'', in 1957, and began work on his best known play ''Night of the Assassins'' later that year. After

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 ...

took power in 1959, Triana returned to Cuba. In 1960, Triana's ''Medea in the Mirror'' was produced at the Prometeo Theatre. The following year, Triana joined the

National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba The National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Unión Nacional de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba, UNEAC) is a social, cultural and professional organization of writers, musicians, actors, painters, sculptors, and artist of different genres. It ...

as a founding member. In 1965, he was awarded the

Casa de las Américas Prize The Casa de las Américas Prize (''Premio Literario Casa de las Américas'') is a literary award given by the Cuban Casa de las Américas. Established in 1959, it is one of Latin America’s oldest and most prestigious literary prizes. The award ...

for ''Night of the Assassins'', which he had rewritten earlier that year. The rewritten play won El Gallo of Havana Prize in 1966. International attention resulting from the awards caused supporters of the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...

to turn against Triana and his work. He married Chantal Chilhaud-Dumaine (daughter of , Ambassador of France to Portugal) in 1968. Triana and his wife were exiled to France in 1980. In France, Triana adapted ''Respectable Women'', a novel by , into the play ''Dialogue for Women'', eventually retitled ''Common Words'', an homage to the play ''Divine Words'', written by

Ramón del Valle-Inclán Ramón María del Valle-Inclán y de la Peña (in Vilanova de Arousa, Galicia, Spain, 28 October 1866 – Santiago de Compostela, 5 January 1936) was a Spanish dramatist, novelist and member of the Spanish Generation of 98. He is considered per ...

. He died on 4 March 2018, in Paris, aged 87.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Triana, Jose 1931 births 2018 deaths Cuban male poets Cuban dramatists and playwrights People from Camagüey Province Cuban expatriates in Spain Exiles of the Cuban Revolution in France Cuban revolutionaries 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Cuban poets