Cirilo Villaverde de la Paz (1812 - 1894) was a Cuban poet, novelist, journalist and freedom fighter. He is best known for Cecilia Valdés, a novel about classes and races in colonial Cuba.
He was born to a doctor on a sugar plantation called San Diego de Nuñez. His family lived by a sugarcane mill, so he was able to observe slavery and all of its evils from a very young age. In 1820, the family moved to Havana, where he later studied law. He was, however, only briefly employed by a law firm before becoming a teacher and devoting himself to literature.
His first works were published in a magazine with the lengthy name Miscelánea, de útil y agradable recreo (Miscellaneous Useful and Agreeable Recreations). He also attended the literary gatherings of Domingo del Monte, an advocate of public education. During this time, he made contributions to a number of now largely forgotten periodicals.
Beginning in 1840, he became an advocate of Cuban independence from Spain and worked as a secretary to General Narciso López, who later undertook two futile invasion attempts to liberate Cuba. In 1848, before that occurred, Villaverde was arrested by Spanish soldiers in his own home but, the following year, successfully arranged his escape and fled to the United States and settled in New York, where he was politically active; working as the editor and publisher of some Cuban exile magazines, including La Verdad and El Independiente.
Under cover of a general amnesty, he returned to Cuba in 1858; editing and making contributions to several periodicals. He was apparently disheartened by the state of things there and returned to New York in 1860, where he worked as an editor for Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. In 1864, he and his wife opened a private school in Weehawken. Four years later, following the outbreak of what would become known as the Ten Years' War, he joined the revolutionary junta in exile.
He spent the remainder of his life working for various publications, writing novels, translating and advocating for Cuban independence. In 1888 and 1894, just before his death, he made brief visits to Cuba. His remains were returned there and placed in an unmarked grave.
In 2008, Cuban writer Daína Chaviano paid tribute to Villaverde in her novel The Island of Eternal Love (Riverhead Press), where he appears as one of the characters. Chaviano also offers a very different version of Cecilia Valdés, re-writing the original story in one of the sub-plots.
Works
"The Girl with the Golden Arrow" (La joven de la flecha del oro)
"The Farmer" (El Guajiro)
"The Cuban Revolution Seen From New York" ("La revolucion de Cuba vista desde New York")
"Cecilia Valdés or the Hill of the Angel" (Cecilia Valdés o La Loma del Angel) This was the major work of his life, and generally regarded as the most significant Cuban novels of the 19th century. Available in its entirety at Project Gutenberg
cirilo, villaverde, 1812, 1894, cuban, poet, novelist, journalist, freedom, fighter, best, known, cecilia, valdés, novel, about, classes, races, colonial, cuba, born28, october, 1812near, pinar, río, cubadied24, october, 1894new, york, contents, biography, wor. Cirilo Villaverde de la Paz 1812 1894 was a Cuban poet novelist journalist and freedom fighter He is best known for Cecilia Valdes a novel about classes and races in colonial Cuba Cirilo VillaverdeBorn28 October 1812near Pinar del Rio CubaDied24 October 1894New York Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 3 Sources 4 External linksBiography EditHe was born to a doctor on a sugar plantation called San Diego de Nunez His family lived by a sugarcane mill so he was able to observe slavery and all of its evils from a very young age In 1820 the family moved to Havana where he later studied law He was however only briefly employed by a law firm before becoming a teacher and devoting himself to literature His first works were published in a magazine with the lengthy name Miscelanea de util y agradable recreo Miscellaneous Useful and Agreeable Recreations He also attended the literary gatherings of Domingo del Monte an advocate of public education During this time he made contributions to a number of now largely forgotten periodicals Beginning in 1840 he became an advocate of Cuban independence from Spain and worked as a secretary to General Narciso Lopez who later undertook two futile invasion attempts to liberate Cuba In 1848 before that occurred Villaverde was arrested by Spanish soldiers in his own home but the following year successfully arranged his escape and fled to the United States and settled in New York where he was politically active working as the editor and publisher of some Cuban exile magazines including La Verdad and El Independiente Under cover of a general amnesty he returned to Cuba in 1858 editing and making contributions to several periodicals He was apparently disheartened by the state of things there and returned to New York in 1860 where he worked as an editor for Frank Leslie s Illustrated Newspaper In 1864 he and his wife opened a private school in Weehawken Four years later following the outbreak of what would become known as the Ten Years War he joined the revolutionary junta in exile He spent the remainder of his life working for various publications writing novels translating and advocating for Cuban independence In 1888 and 1894 just before his death he made brief visits to Cuba His remains were returned there and placed in an unmarked grave In 2008 Cuban writer Daina Chaviano paid tribute to Villaverde in her novel The Island of Eternal Love Riverhead Press where he appears as one of the characters Chaviano also offers a very different version of Cecilia Valdes re writing the original story in one of the sub plots Works Edit The Girl with the Golden Arrow La joven de la flecha del oro The Farmer El Guajiro The Cuban Revolution Seen From New York La revolucion de Cuba vista desde New York Cecilia Valdes or the Hill of the Angel Cecilia Valdes o La Loma del Angel This was the major work of his life and generally regarded as the most significant Cuban novels of the 19th century Available in its entirety at Project GutenbergSources EditCirilo Villaverde Criticism Cirilo Villaverde in Encyclopaedia BritannicaExternal links EditWorks by Cirilo Villaverde at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Cirilo Villaverde at Internet Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cirilo Villaverde amp oldid 1048775217, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
