HAVANA, Cuba.- Doralina de la Caridad Alonso Pérez, better known as Dora Alonso, is perhaps the greatest reference in children’s literature for Cubans. During her long life she dedicated herself to writing stories, poems and plays for children; but she also cultivated journalism, a profession that accompanied her from 1933 until well into the 1960s.
At just nine years old, Dora Alonso won first prize in the provincial literary contest “Estela Brochs de la Torriente” in her native Matanzas, and in the 1940s she wrote her first collection of poems aimed at children. She titled it Coralbut it was not published until 1983.
Between journalism and children’s stories, he published two of his most transcendental works: batey sun (1950) and Half Moon, which years later would be adapted for television; the second with the name of wild landbut both are among the most popular telenovelas that Cubans remember.
Also in the 1950s his endearing character Pelusín del Monte was born, inspired by rural life and the candor of peasant children. His first play for the little ones was precisely fluffy and the birds; but many others followed, such as Lollipop Tintin, Bonbon and Rattlesnake, Big Boss and Pelusin’s dreamall premiered by the National puppet of Cuba.
Many of his children’s plays were performed abroad, and a good part of his soap operas were broadcast in Puerto Rico, Panama, El Salvador, Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, Brazil, and Venezuela.
Among his best-known stories for children is the blue coachman, First published in 1975 to become a classic of Cuban literature. In parallel to her literary production for children, she collaborated with the magazine Bohemia and contributed to the preparation of the first textbooks for primary education in Cuba.
his novel unarmed land He deserved the top prize in the second edition of the “Casa de las Américas” Hispano-American Literary Contest, a prize that he would win on other occasions with works of a diverse nature.
Recognized and multi-awarded in the world of Hispanic letters, Dora Alonso received the National Literature Award just before her death, which occurred on a day like today, in 2001.
