MIAMI, United States. – The Cuban writer Armando de Armas died this Wednesday in Miami at the age of 65, according to close sources on social networks. De Armas was an influential figure in the Cuban exile, in which he stood out as a narrator, essayist and cultural promoter.
The news of his death was spread by several of his relatives, who did not specify the cause of death.
Born on October 15, 1958 in Saint ClareCuba, Armando de Armas graduated in Philology from the “Marta Abreu” Central University of Las Villas. During the 90s, he was an active defender of human rights on the Island, in addition to being part of independent cultural movements that opposed Fidel Castro’s regime.
In 1994, along with a group of friends, he fled by sea to the United States, where he was welcomed as a political refugee. Years later, in 1999, he published a chronicle about his escape in the magazine Letter International of Berlin, which received great international recognition.
Among his many experiences, his participation in the Democracy Flotilla stands out, an initiative of Cuban exiles who, in September 1995, sailed to Cuba in protest against the regime. De Armas survived the shipwreck of the ship Sundown II during that crossing through the Florida Straits, an episode that profoundly marked his life.
In the literary field, Armando de Armas left a legacy made up of novels, essays, stories and journalistic articles that reflect his criticism of Castroism and his reflections on exile. Among his most recognized novels are The table (2008) and Knights in Time (2013), both published in Madrid. His essays, like Anti-exile myths (2007) and The cards in the mirror (2011), explore philosophical and political themes related to exile and have been translated into English and Italian.
His work also includes collections of stories such as bad move (1996) and Cavalry Charge (2006), and his story Fingers was published by The WriteDeal publishing house in 2011. Throughout his career, his texts appeared in various anthologies and were translated into multiple languages, which expanded the reach of his voice inside and outside the Cuban literary world.
De Armas was also an active defender of freedom of expression. In 1997, together with other prominent writers, he founded Angel Cuadra and Reinaldo Bragado Brittany, the chapter of the PEN Club of Cuban Writers in Exile, in which he served as vice president. In 2007, he was part of a delegation of Cuban leaders who, together with representatives of the United States Congress, signed the Agreement for Democracy in Cuba in the city of Lubin, Poland, together with Polish President Lech Kaczyński.
In addition to his literary activity, he regularly collaborated with Radio and Television Martíwhere he led the Art and Culture section, a space where he promoted critical thinking and dissidence against the Cuban regime.
