Aurelio Cortés Collection of Reinaldo Arenas

Cortés, Aurelio

Aurelio Cortés (1909-2007) was a Cuban dentist and personal friend of Reinaldo Arenas. Cortés was born in Havana, Cuba in 1909. He studied oral medicine at the University of Havana and had a long career as a practicing dentist. He studied a number of languages including English, Italian, and French at "La Alianza Francesa." He worked as a translator for the Instituto Cubano de Amistad con los Pueblos (ICAAP); and also translated the works of José Lezama Lima. For over forty years, Cortés volunteered at the José Martí National Library where he worked closely with Juan Pérez de la Riva. It is at the National Library where he met Reinaldo Arenas, whom Cortés supported in the early stages of his writing. Cortés also volunteered at the La Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC) later in life. He died at the age of 98 on March 13, 2007.

Arenas, Reinaldo (1943-1990)

Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990) was a Cuban poet, novelist, and playwright.

He was born in the Oriente province of Cuba, near the city of Holguín on July 16, 1943. As a teenager Arenas joined the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power in 1959. In 1962, he moved to Havana to enroll in the School of Planification and, later, in the Faculty of Letters at the University of Havana, where he studied philosophy and literature without completing a degree. The following year, he began working at the Biblioteca Nacional José Martí and continued to work there until 1967. During this time he wrote a number of short stories and the novel Celestino antes del alba, which won a First Mention Award at the Cirilo Villaverde National Competition in 1965 and was published by UNEAC (National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists) in 1967. Celestino antes del alba was the only novel Arenas wrote and published in Cuba. From 1966 to 1970 Arenas discreetly worked on Otra vez el mar a following title to Arenas' Pentagonia series. He gave the manuscript to Aurelio Cortés for safekeeping though the latter destroyed the manuscript. There are differing accounts of how the manuscript was destroyed and why. Arenas went on to re-write Otra vez el mar two other times before publishing it in 1987. From 1968 to 1974 he was a journalist and editor for the literary magazine La Gaceta de Cuba.

Arenas grew critical of Castro's government and was imprisoned for his writings and open homosexuality. In 1973, he was sent to prison after being charged and convicted for "ideological deviation" and for publishing his writings abroad without official consent. After escaping from prison he attempted to leave Cuba by launching himself to shore on a tire inner tube. He was caught and imprisoned at the infamous El Morro Castle and released in 1976. In 1980, as part of the mass emigration of Cubans during Mariel Boatlift, he was exiled in the United States. He took permanent residence in New York City and was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987. He continued to write and speak out against the Castro government for the remainder of his life. After battling AIDS, Arenas died of an intentional overdose of drugs and alcohol on December 7, 1990.

The collection contains letters written to and from Reinaldo Arenas, Aurelio Cortés, and Claude Durand. Also included are typewritten drafts of Arenas' short articles and essays some of which are dedicated to Cortés, a personal friend. Also present are a typewritten drafts of Cortés' own work that relates to his friendship with Reinaldo Arenas.

Organized in the following series: Series 1: Correspondence, and Series 2: Works By Aurelio Cortés and Reinaldo Arenas.

Purchase, 2017 (AM 2017-127).

This collection was purchased (in part) with funds provided by the Program in Latin American Studies (PLAS).

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This collection was processed by Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez in March 2017. Finding aid written by Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez in March 2017.

Nothing was removed from the 2017 processing.

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Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Aurelio Cortés Collection of Reinaldo Arenas, Box and Folder Number; Manuscripts Division, Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Publisher

Manuscripts Division

Finding aids author

Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez

Date

2017

Creator

Cortés, Aurelio

Subject

Authors, Cuban -- 20th century -- Correspondence

Cuban literature -- 20th century

Gay men's writings, Cuban -- 20th century

Latin American literature -- 20th century

People

Arenas, Reinaldo (1943-1990)

Occupation

Poets, Cuban -- 20th century -- Correspondence

Language

Spanish; Castilian

Form

Correspondence -- 20th century

Translations (documents) -- 20th century