Daniel Chavarría (23 November 1933 – 6 April 2018) was a

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

an revolutionary, writer and translator, who lived in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

since the 1960s. He had a son with Dora Salazar, Daniel Chavarria, and raised his sister.

Life and works

Daniel Chavarría was born in San José de Mayo, Uruguay. In 1964, while Chavarría was living in Brazil, there was a military coup and he fled to work amongst the gold seekers in the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

. Later on, he fled to Cuba. There he began working as a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

translator and teacher. Subsequently he began his career as a writer. Daniel Chavarría defined himself as a

an citizen and a

n writer. Chavarría’s style of writing is within the Latin American tradition of political writers, such as

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian writer and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th centur ...

. He mentioned that as a child, he read

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

Emilio Salgari Emilio Salgari (, but often erroneously ; 21 August 1862 – 25 April 1911) was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction. In Italy, his extensive body of work was more widely read than that of Dante ...

and

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

, and their influence can be detected in his writing. For example, in ''Tango for a Torturer'', the influence of ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...

'' is clear. Chavarría’s life and writings clearly show his

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

and revolutionary background. He was a well known supporter of the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

. In 2010, Chavarría won Cuba's National Prize for Literature. Chavarría died in Havana on 6 April 2018, aged 84.

Bibliography

* 1978 ''Joy'' * 1984 ''The 6th Island'' * 1991 ''Allá Ellos'' * 1993 ''The Eye of Cybele'' * 1994 ''Adiós muchachos'' * 1999 ''That Year in Madrid'' * 2001 ''Tango for a Torturer'' * 2001 ''El rojo en la pluma del loro'' * 2004 ''Viudas de sangre'' * 2005 ''Príapos'' * 2006 ''Una pica en Flandes''

Awards

Joy: * Aniversario de la Revolución, La Habana, 1975. * Capitán San Luis, 1978. The 6th island: * Premio de la Crítica, La Habana. Allá ellos: * Dashiell Hammett Award, Gijón, 1992. The Eye of Cybele: * Planeta-Joaquín Mortiz, México, 1993. * Educación y Cultura, Montevideo, 1994. * Ennio Flaiano, Pescara, 1998. * Premio de la Crítica, La Habana. Adiós Muchachos: *

Edgar Allan Poe Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor ...

- Best Paperback Original, New York, 2002 Tango for a Torturer: *

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 ...

, La Habana, 2000. * Premio de la Crítica, La Habana. Viudas de sangre: * Premio Alejo Carpentier, La Habana, 2004. Other * National Prize for Literature, 2010

References

External links

Perché ho deciso di vivere a Cuba
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chavarria, Daniel 1933 births 2018 deaths Cuban communists Uruguayan communists People from San José de Mayo Uruguayan expatriates in Cuba Uruguayan people of Basque descent Uruguayan autobiographers Uruguayan translators