# Germán Piniella Sardiñas

**Date of death:** January 9, 2021

**Categories:** Society, journalist, narrator

Narrator, journalist, literary translator and music critic. Bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of La Habana, Master's degree in Marketing and Business Management from the Higher School of Marketing Studies in Madrid and Master's degree in Marketing and Communication from the University of La Habana.

He has published the detective novel A Touch of Melancholy (Ediciones Unión, 2013), the short story collection Back on the Road Again (Finalist for the David Prize 1969; Editorial Pluma en Ristre, 1971), Starting Point (Anthology of young narrators and poets, jointly with Raúl Rivero; Pluma en Ristre, 1970) and the culinary culture book Dining with Doña Lita (In collaboration with his wife Amelia Rodríguez; Arte y Literatura, 2010 and 2015).

Several of his short stories have been anthologized in Cuba and abroad. He is developing the detective novel Blues for Quijano.

Associate editor of the bilingual Internet magazine Progreso Semanal. For his work in the field of advertising and marketing, he received the Espacio Award from the Cuban Association of Social Communicators in recognition of his lifetime achievement.

Publications
His stories and commentaries have appeared in the magazine Casa de las Américas, La Gaceta de Cuba, Bohemia, El Caimán Barbudo, La Jiribilla and others, as well as in foreign publications. He has also written liner notes for records for all Cuban record companies.

Several of his short stories have been anthologized in Cuba and in several countries.

He has published:
    Back on the Road Again (short stories), finalist for the David Prize in 1969 (Editorial Pluma en Ristre, 1971)
    Starting Point (anthology of young narrators and poets), jointly with Raúl Rivero (Pluma en Ristre, 1970)
    Dining with Doña Lita (culinary culture), in collaboration with his wife, psychologist Amelia Rodríguez (Arte y Literatura, 2010)
    A Touch of Melancholy (novel) (Ediciones Unión, 2013)

Clash of cultures, conspiracy, sex and betrayals surface in the framework of this narrative, which tells a fascinating story of adventures and misadventures—centered on the search for a mythical engraving by Alberto Durero—, which begins in 1527, during the birth of the German Renaissance, and which concludes in Cuba of these times.

Germán Piniella knows, and intelligently employs, the resources that characterize the works of the genre. Hence, with skill, ability and craft, he knows how to handle intrigue and mystery, how to construct a believable story from beginning to end and how to conceive the characters that allow him to pull the strings of the plot.