The New York City launching of Fernando Velázquez Medina‘s second novel, El mar de los caníbales, whose protagonist, a prodigal storyteller named Diego, recalls his restless youth and takes us on an adventurous voyage back in history to the Caribbean seas and jungles of the 16th century, full of discoveries, illusions, and betrayals. Diego, also known as Diego Grillo, Diego el Mulato, Dieguillo, and Diego Lucifer, is a character for the ages, a man of a thousand names and a thousand faces. A mestizo, he is the first Cuban pirate and the outstanding disciple of the dreaded English dragon and plunderer of Santo Domingo, Sir Francis Drake, and accomplice of the equally infamous Cornelis Jol, the legendary Dutchman and “peg leg” pirate. The book’s exuberant narrative mirrors the flora and fauna of the New World, as rich and enveloping as the tale itself.
The author will be interviewed by poet and writer Lourdes Gil, Director of our Literature Program, followed by a Q&A.
The presentation will be held entirely in Spanish.
BARUCH COLLEGE
25th Street, bet. Lexington and Third Aves., NYC
6th FLOOR: CONFERENCE ROOM 6-210
SPACE IS LIMITED
Free Admission
RSVP at: info@cubanculturalcenter.org
Novelist Fernando Velázquez Medina (Havana, 1951) is also a writer and movie critic. His articles and reviews have appeared in numerous journals in Cuba (Bohemia and Letras Cubanas among them) and in the United States, where he has written for Opinión, the New York newspaper Hoy and the Spanish news network Tribune. His first novel, Última rumba en La Habana, has been published in the United States, Spain, and Italy.
Lourdes Gil is a poet and essayist. Her poetry collections
include Anima vagula and Empieza la ciudad, among
others. Her poetry has been widely anthologized,
and her essays on the art and literature of the
Cuban diaspora have been included in several journals
and encyclopedias. Her many awards include a writing
fellowship from the Ford Foundation. She presently
teaches Latin American history and culture
at Baruch College.