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Witness History: The Cuban writer who defied Fidel Castro

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The Cuban writer who defied Fidel Castro

06/12/2019 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, The Cuban writer who defied Fidel Castro

In 1990 Reinaldo Arenas died of Aids in New York, leaving behind a powerful autobiography

In 1990 Reinaldo Arenas died of Aids in New York, leaving behind his powerful autobiography, Before Night Falls, now regarded as a classic of modern Latin American writing.

On 7 December 1990 the dissident Cuban novelist and poet Reinaldo Arenas killed himself in New York after years of suffering from AIDS. Before fleeing Cuba, Arenas had been jailed for his homosexuality, sent to re-education camps and prevented from writing.  He left behind his autobiography - Before Night Falls - a powerful denunciation of Fidel Castro’s regime which later became a successful film. Simon Watts talks to Arenas’ friend  and fellow writer, Jaime Manrique.

The recordings of Reinaldo Arenas in this programme are taken from BBC archive, and the documentaries Conducta Impropria and Seres Extravagantes.

(Photo: Reinaldo Arenas. Credit: Sophie Bassouls/Sygma/Sygma/Getty Images)

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