Onelio Jorge Cardoso (May 14, 1914 in

Calabazar de Sagua Calabazar de Sagua, also shortened as Calabazar, is a Cuban village and ''consejo popular'' ("people's council", i.e. hamlet) of the municipality of Encrucijada, in Villa Clara Province, Cuba. In 2011 it had a population of 7,912. History Founded ...

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 ...

– May 29, 1986 in

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.

, Cuba) was a

n editor, screenwriter, short fiction writer and party functionary.

Biography and career

Cardoso was born in

, nearby

Encrucijada Encrucijada () is a municipality and town in the Villa Clara Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1850 and established as a municipality in 1910. History The municipality was divided into the barrios of Centro, Paso Real, El Santo and Vega Redo ...

. He was unable to complete his high school studies due to his family's economic problems, employing himself in different trades to support his family. One of these was as a traveling salesman, a job that allowed him to get to know different places and people within Cuba that would serve as models for the setting and characters of several of his stories. He started writing at a young age, winning a short story writing contest in 1936. However, it was not until 1945 when he became known by winning the "Alfonso Hernández Catá" contest with a story entitled "Coalmen" (''Los carboneros''). In 1945, he published in Mexico his first book, ''Taita, you tell me how'' (''Taita, diga usted cómo''). In 1948, he settled in Havana, working as a news editor in 1010 kHz AM radio station and writing screenplays as well for commercial radio stations. He, furthermore, worked as editor in chief for Cine-Revista newsreel. He was awarded the National Award of Peace for his story "Scrap Iron" (''Hierro viejo''). He published his second book in 1958, ''The storyteller'' (''El cuentero''). After 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 ...

, he became Director of the Institute of Music Copyrights, Chief of Special Articles of Granma, and Chief Editor of ''Pueblo y Cultura'' and ''Pionero'' magazines. He was also a documentary screenwriter for the

Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry 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 ...

(ICAIC). In 1961, he joined the executive department of the literary section of the

Unión Nacional de Escritores y Artistas de 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 ...

(National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba - UNEAC).

References

1914 births 1986 deaths People from Encrucijada Cuban male short story writers Cuban short story writers Cuban male writers {{Cuba-writer-stub