One of the great Cuban intellectuals, the bibliographer Araceli García Carranza, He died in Havana at the age of 88. His biography is full of works, responsibilities and recognitions both in Cuba and internationally.
He was born on October 10, 1937 in Guanabacoa, Havana. In 1955 he began studying at the University of Havana, where, in 1962, he received a doctorate in Philosophy and Letters.
Roberto Fernández Retamar, his teacher, celebrated “the privilege” of having her among his “best students” and described her as “that serene and serious student in whom one could already guess the traits that were going to characterize her professional life. Shortly after graduating, her work virtues began to become visible.”
Throughout his career, García Carranza has compiled the bibliographies of cardinal figures of Cuban culture such as Alejo Carpentier, José Lezama Lima, Fernando Ortiz, Emilio Roig de Leuchsenring, Eliseo Diego, Roberto Fernández Retamar, Eusebio Leal Spengler, Cintio Vitier and Che Guevara, among others. His work includes books and pamphlets, in addition to almost a hundred collaborations in national and international magazines.
Since 1976, he compiled Martí’s bibliography for the Yearbook of the Center for Martí Studies until completing a total of 45 volumes in 2023.
For more than 60 years he worked at the José Martí National Library, where he held different responsibilities.
Rafael Acosta de Arribadirector of the José Martí National Library Magazine, a publication that she herself described as “an encyclopedia of Cuban culture”stated of her:
Araceli has been incorporated with its own specific weight into a national bibliographical tradition of great luster. This thick and fertile tradition is marked by names of the stature of Domingo del Monte, who brought together the most complete library of Cuban books or books about Cuba of his time; Antonio Bachiller y Morales, historian of letters and sciences; Domingo Figarola Caneda, founder of the National Library and eminent bibliophile; Francisco de Paula Coronado, successor of Figarola; Juan Miguel Dihigo y Mestre, promoter of arts and letters; Carlos Manuel Trelles y Govín, great among the greats, who, for half a century, made up the largest sum of Cuban bibliographies in history; and Fermín Peraza Sarauza, director and editor of the Cuban Bibliographic Yearbook.
National and international recognition
Its prestige transcends national borders. She was a corresponding member of the Bibliography Section of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) between 1995 and 2005, and in 2004 she was appointed member of the Editorial Board of the American journal Cuban Studies. He has given conferences and collaborated on projects in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Spain and the United States.
Among his numerous recognitions, the Distinction for Cuban Culture, the Alejo Carpentier and Nicolás Guillén medals, the Raúl Gómez García Distinction, the 2003 National Cultural Research Award, the Carlos J. Finlay Order and the Félix Varela Order of the First Degree, the highest distinction granted by the Cuban State to personalities who make extraordinary contributions to national and universal culture.
In February 2023, the 31st Havana International Book Fair paid tribute to him as a prominent figure, recognizing his then 61 years of dedication to librarianship. On that occasion, she was described as “the most important living bibliographer in Cuba.”
The Cuban Association of Librarianswhen announcing her death, expressed: “Today is a very sad day, the Cuban Association of Librarians has lost one of its illustrious members, Dr. Araceli García Carranza, our honorary librarian, bibliographer par excellence, researcher, professor and a sweet and loving human being who loved above all things her profession and her National Library. Just a few days ago she said with pride that she was celebrating 64 years of work in her beloved library institution.”
“Serving is the staff of my life”
For Araceli García Carranza, the essence of her work is summed up in one word: serve. “The librarian’s word of order is to serve”.
“I have been useful by serving, because serving is the staff of my life, and being useful by helping others has been a true personal fulfillment for me.”
Acosta de Arriba, in his praise of this “institution within the institution,” said that Araceli García Carranza Basetti “leaves a solid and rich legacy to the national culture and to librarianship in particular, with her fruitful and long existence.”
