Havana/Throughout 2025 there were numerous goodbyes. The obituaries published, during these 12 months, in 14ymediohave not only been a record of the end of those lives, but also a way to put into context the legacy they left. It is worth now recounting those goodbyes, including those Cubans who left – those closest to them, those who directly touch the skin of the country – and international figures whose disappearance also left their mark on the public debate.
Death in a traffic accident Paulito FG marked one of the most impressive moments of the year. Idol of popular dance music, his figure synthesized the transition from timba to the big stages, together with a great professional ability to stay in contact with the public for decades. Along with him, the party of Edesio Alejandro He closed a fundamental stage of music for film and theater in Cuba: restless, experimental composer, capable of breaking molds in an increasingly narrow cultural panorama.
In acting and audiovisual, Mario Limonta and Luis Alberto Ramirez They represented different generations, but equally recognizable to the Cuban viewer. Ramírez also joined the painful list of deaths from the viruses circulating on the Island, a health alarm signal that lasted until 2025 and left several victims in the cultural world. The death of Jose Antonio Chavezremembered for his impressive work in the Camagüey ballet.
2025 was the year in which these deaths forced us to look back, measure trajectories and ask ourselves what remains when the voices are turned off.
Theater and cinema also lost Manuel Marzela discreet but constant filmmaker, and television said goodbye to Aris Teresa Bruzosthe endearing Evarista of live from the storywhose popularity made it part of the daily life of millions of Cubans.
In the field of visual arts, the death in Madrid of Waldo Balart He closed the cycle of one of the most relevant abstract artists on the Island and in the world, linked to the kinetic style and conceptual rigor. He also left Zenaida Armenterosan essential figure of Afro-Cuban culture, whose work as a researcher and promoter left a significant mark on the preservation of traditions.
The disappearance of Eduardo Torres Cuevashistorian and essayist, meant the loss of one of the most influential voices in official cultural thought. His work helped build the historical narrative of the Revolution and his death reopened debates about memory and power.
Independent journalism and the Cuban opposition also lost key references. Manuel Ballagasan uncomfortable and exiled chronicler, left a work marked by denunciation and critical analysis of the system. Wilfredo Vallínlawyer and human rights defender, was a central figure in the creation of civic spaces outside of state control, while the reporter’s departure Juan González Febles It forced us to rethink independent journalism.
In exile, they died Yndamiro Restanopioneer of opposition thought, and Luis Conte Agueroemblematic voice, for decades, of Cuban politics and radio. Added to them Salvador Lemisplaywright and cultural promoter, whose work was crossed by the tension between absurdity, social metaphor and the exploration of identity
Among the figures directly linked to power, the death of Ricardo Cabrisas closed the chapter of one of the men who for decades “reassured” foreign investors and negotiators, the technocratic face of a system in crisis. He also died Osmany Cienfuegosbrother of Commander Camilo, whose life was spent between official positions and a progressive distance from the center of power.
The year was also marked by the death of Pope Francis
In exile, the death of Lincoln Diaz-Balart He recalled the weight of the diaspora in US politics and the role of Cuban-American congressmen in Washington’s agenda towards Havana. For his part, the painter Humberto Calzada He left a work recognizable for its silent architecture and its interiors frozen in time, where human absence becomes the protagonist. The artist built, from stillness and formal rigor, one of the most solid visual poetics of contemporary Cuban art.
The year was also marked by the death of Pope Francisa figure who, with gestures and words, influenced the relationship between Cuba and the Vatican and deepened a path of rapprochement with the Castro regime. He also left Mario Vargas Llosaessential novelist and essayist, whose ideas and controversies resonated for decades in Latin America, banned for decades in official publishing houses and in public tributes on the Island, although for the first time, just a few days ago, the Ateneo de La Habana organized a literary conversation on the Peruvian with the participation of Leonardo Padura.
The world of cinema and fashion lost names with global reach: Robert Redfordactor and director; Claudia Cardinaleicon of European cinema; Diane Keaton, reference for several generations; and Giorgio Armanicreator of an aesthetic that transcended the catwalks. In music, the death of Ozzy Osbourne put an end to the story of one of the most extreme figures in rock.
From science and environmental activism, Jane Goodall He left a legacy of research and defense of nature that transcended disciplines. In Latin American politics, the departure of Violeta Barrios de Chamorro and of Pepe Mujica He recalled two very different ways of exercising power, both influential in the region.
So 2025 was the year in which these deaths forced us to look back, measure trajectories and ask ourselves what remains when the voices are turned off. In this memory exercise, this diary accompanied many farewells, convinced that remembering is also a way of narrating the present.
