Wendy Guerra (born 11 December 1970), formally Wendy Guerra Torres, is a Cuban poet and novelist, based in
Miami
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 ...
.
After a brief career acting in Cuban film and television, she turned to writing and won recognition more readily abroad than within Cuba. She has been described as "a kind of diva of contemporary Cuban literature".
Three of her books have been published in Cuba: ''Platea a oscuras'' (poetry, Havana: Universidad de La Habana, 1987),
''Cabeza rapada'' (poetry. Havana: Letras Cubanas, 1996)
and ''Posar desnuda en La Habana'' (Havana: Letras Cubanas, 2014).
Biography
Guerra was born on 11 December 1970 in Havana in what she later described as "a small provincial hospital". Her family soon moved to
Cienfuegos
Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 150,000. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, especial ...
on Cuba's southern coast.
Her mother Albis Torres was an unpublished poet.
Her father was Cuban playwright Raúl Guerra, who died alcoholic and begging for alms on the streets. She has a half brother, plastic artist Sandro Guerra García.
Guerra's first collection of poems, ''Platea a oscuras'', won her the prize "13 de marzo", published in Havana (Cuba) in 1987.
She then earned a degree in film, radio and television direction at Havana's
Instituto Superior de Arte The University of Arts of Cuba / Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) was established on September 1, 1976, by the Cuban government as a school for the arts. Its original structure had three schools: Music, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts.
History
...
.
She appeared on Cuba's first morning television show, ''Buenos Días'', where she read children's stories.
She worked as an actress on Cuban television and in film, but considers her abilities limited, though she found the experience useful as a student of character and interpretation.
Her film credits include ''
Hello Hemingway
''Hello Hemingway'' is a 1990 Cuban drama film directed by Fernando Pérez and starring Laura de la Uz. The plot, set in Havana in 1956, near the end of Fulgencio Batista's dictatorship, follows a young girl whose aspirations to obtain a scholarsh ...
'' (1990).
She kept diaries that formed the basis for her first novel, ''Todos se van'' (''Everyone Leaves''), which was published in Spain. The novel follows its young protagonist through childhood and adolescence in
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 ...
. The novel was adapted into the screenplay for a film directed by the Colombian
Sergio Cabrera. Cabrera shot the film in Cuba and was later screened at the
Havana Film Festival
The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Latin American filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as ''Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana,'' and in English as International Festiva ...
.
Guerra published her novel ''Posar desnuda en la Habana'' (''Posing Nude in Havana'') in 2012, after conducted research in Havana and Paris and read Nin's unexpurgated diaries. In the novel, extracts from Nin's diaries are interwoven with fictional entries. In 2014 the novel was presented in Cuba (Alejo Carpentier room,
La Cabaña Fortress
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
) during the 23rd
Havana's International Book Fair
Havana’s International Book Fair (Spanish: ’’Feria Internacional del Libro de La Habana") is an annual public festival to promote Cuban government sanctioned books and writing that spans between February and March. The festival begins in Hava ...
.
In 2013, she published ''Negra'' in Spain, a
first person narrative
A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller ...
of racial discrimination in post-Revolutionary Cuban society.
In 2016, Guerra published ''Domingo de Revolución'' (''Revolution Sunday'') in Spain, the story of a Cuban author who publishes a book of poems in Europe and is the object of suspicion by both the Cuban government and Cuban dissidents.
Guerra's writing has appeared in such magazines as ''Encuentro'', ''La gaceta de Cuba'', and ''
Nexos
''Nexos'' is a cultural and political magazine in based in Mexico City, Mexico.
History and profile
''Nexos'' was founded in 1978. The founders were a group of Intellectuals headed by Héctor Aguilar Camín. The magazine modeled on the ''New Yo ...
'', as well as in magazines devoted to the visual arts. She has been a guest lecturer at Princeton University and Dartmouth College. Her works have been translated into several languages.
She is married to jazz pianist
Ernán López-Nussa.
After residing in Chile, she settled in
Miami
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 ...
, as part of the Cuban exiled community, where she began working as an alternative content creator for
CNN en Español
CNN en Español is a Pan-American Spanish-language news channel, owned by CNN Global, a news division for Warner Bros. Discovery. It was launched on pay television, on 17 March 1997.
History CNN en Español before 1997
In 1988, CNN began produc ...
in 2021.
Awards and honours
She received the Carbet des Lycéens prize (''Prix Carbet des lycéens'') in 2009. In 2010, France named her a ''Chevalier'' of the
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...
.
Selected works
Poetry
*''Platea a oscuras'' (Havana: Universidad de La Habana, 1987)
*''Cabeza rapada'' (Havana: Letras Cubanas, 1996)
*''Ropa interior'' (Bruguera, 2009)
**''A Cage Within'' (Harbor Mountain Press, 2013); translated by Elizabeth Polli
Novels
*''Todos se van'' (''Everyone's Leaving'') (Barcelona: Bruguera, 2006)
**''Everyone Leaves'' (2013); translated by
Achy Obejas
Achy Obejas (born June 28, 1956) is a Cuban-American writer and translator focused on personal and national identity issues, living in Benicia, California. She frequently writes on her sexuality and nationality, and has received numerous awards f ...
*''Nunca fui primera dama'' (''I was never the grand dame'') (Barcelona: Bruguera, 2008)
*''Posar desnuda en La Habana'' (''Posing Nude in Havana'');
Alfaguara
Alfaguara is a Spanish-language publishing house that serves markets in Latin America, Spain and the United States. It was founded by the Spanish writer and Nobel prize winner Camilo José Cela.
History and profile
Alfaguara was established in ...
(2012), Havana:
Letras Cubanas (2013)
*''Negra'' (
Editorial Anagrama
Anagrama is a Spanish publisher founded in 1969 by Jorge Herralde. In 2010 it was sold to the Italian publisher Feltrinelli.
Since 1969, Anagrama has published over 3,500 titles. currently, Anagrama publishes around 100 books annually, between t ...
, 2014)
*''Domingo de Revolución'' (Anagrama, 2016)
**''Revolution Sunday'' (2018); translated by Achy Obejas
References
External links
Habáname Guerra's blog hosted by ''
El Mundo''
*
"Wendy Guerra, Writer", biography and video interview in Spanish with English subtitles Havana Cultura
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guerra, Wendy
1970 births
Living people
Cuban film actresses
20th-century Cuban actresses
Cuban women novelists
Cuban women poets
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Instituto Superior de Arte alumni