Marcelino Arozarena Ramos

Teacher, poet and writer who was part of the editorial board of La Gaceta de Cuba.

He was born in La Habana. His parents were Marcelino, who was a mason, and Ramona, who was a domestic employee. They had seven children and Marcelino was the eldest. He lived in the municipality of Plaza de la Revolución (1912 to 1941), in Diez de Octubre (1942 to 1952) and in Centro Habana (1952 to 1996).

Salvador García Agüero (distinguished leader of the Socialist Popular Party, exceptional orator, tireless fighter against racial discrimination, diplomat after '59 and unfortunately forgotten) prepared him to enter the Normal School for Teachers of La Habana. Arozarena himself says that García Agüero put him on the path of good politics and good poetry.

Marcelino enrolled in the Normal School and upon graduating in 1934 became one of the most outstanding students. In that same year of his graduation from the Normal, his poem "Song of the Poor Student" was published in the first issue of the journal Polémica of the University, by decision of the Editorial Board, which included José Antonio Portuondo, Pablo de la Torriente Brau, Raúl Roa García and Ramiro Valdés Daussá.

By that time he already knew who would be his study companion, girlfriend, wife and also companion in struggles, Ernestina Himely. His classmates who knew Marcelino's ability to write poetry would "lock" him in a classroom so he could create the slogans they would use in street demonstrations. Marcelino Arozarena Ramos was a founder of the Left Wing Students of the Normal School.

Founder of the Marxist party that took different names until adopting that of the Socialist Popular Party (PSP) and participated as a delegate at the IV Congress of Union Unity.

He collaborated with Juan Marinello in the newspaper La Palabra and was a founder, along with a group of prestigious intellectuals, of the Society of Afro-Cuban Studies, created by Don Fernando Ortíz, in the 1930s.

He was part of the editorial board of La Gaceta de Cuba in the late 1950s. He collaborated with numerous Cuban and foreign publications, especially literary ones. He worked as a stenographer-typist for the Parliamentary Committee of the PSP (each party had, during that time, in the 1940s, its committee or office, which was located in the National Capitol).

By direction of the PSP, he was private secretary to Dr. Carlos Rafael Rodríguez, when he was appointed Minister Without Portfolio. He worked briefly as a teacher, although his life is a true teaching.

Marcelino had extensive knowledge, acquired fundamentally in a self-taught manner. In 1948 he graduated as a radio announcer and earned his living mainly as a journalist. He worked as a journalist at "Noticias de Hoy" (1951-1953), the official organ of the PSP. There he was responsible for page 2, dedicated to culture; he wrote front-page fillers (he shared this with Sgt. Sergio Aguirre), had a political satire column titled "Lloviznita" and signed it with the pseudonym "Juan de la Nuve". He created for the front page of "Hoy Infantil", the characters "Pelusa y Pimienta", in color (by their style and messages, they were predecessors of "Mafalda" and "Elpidio Valdés", since at that time throughout all of Latin America, only comics from the United States were reproduced, with a diversionary approach, such as "Superman", "The Phantom", "Dick Tracy" and others).

Batista's tyranny closed the Hoy newspaper and Marcelino began working as an announcer at La Voz del Aire. This station became Radio Voz first and later Radio Reloj Nacional (Angel Augier started it, but worked there for a short time). In those years the "Revista" was edited only by Marcelino and received multiple congratulations.

He also held the position of Head of Information. Among his colleagues we can mention Graciela Hernández, Lino Betancourt, Martha Dusté, Gilberto Toste, Mario Travieso, Floreal Chomón, among others.

He was linked as a writer and journalist to the station "Mil Diez", of the PSP. When the Revolution triumphed, he maintained that vanguard attitude, but from the "base", never held high positions, because he was very shy. He was a founder of the CDR and cooperated prominently in the preparation of the 1st assemblies of People's Power on his block, where he was so loved and respected that he is still remembered.

Later he went to work as an editor at La Gaceta of the UNEAC. In Arozarena, intellectual activity as a writer and poet, political struggle and work activity go hand in hand and intertwine, because his work in general is marked by his fidelity to his ideals.

The poet, journalist and teacher Marcelino Arozarena is considered one of the most distinguished representatives of the so-called Afro-Cuban poetry, although he is that and more, because his poetry is social: he sings to the humble, to personalities of culture, politics and sports; to the heroes of the Homeland; he describes simple and relevant events of Cuba and the world and in singing and describing, he always takes sides.

In the early years of the Revolution he was selected to form the 1st collective of journalists who were going to work for the TASS Agency of the former Soviet Union. At the Gazette of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba he worked until 1985, the year he retired.

In this period his commitment as an editor stands out, his critical works, his activity as a member or president of juries in literary contests and the achievements accomplished by the UNEAC since he was elected General Secretary of its union section. Marcelino was also a founder of the Union of Journalists of Cuba (UPEC) and of the UNEAC.

The first work published of his was "Caridad", when he was only 21 years old and he closes his creative cycle –and practically his vital cycle– with "Caldosa a Dulce María", dedicated to Dulce María Loynaz when he was already 81 years old. On August 11, 1996 he died while recovering from surgery. This last poem was discovered by his daughter Georgina Arozarena as she organized his documents after his lamentable loss, and which she delivered personally to Dulce María Loynaz.

Literary critics, historians, Africanologists and anthropologists recognize the value of his work, such as: the Cubans Ramón Guirao; Fernando Ortiz, Argeliers León, Samuel Feijóo, Miguel Barnet, Ma. Teresa Linares, Daisy Rivero, Eusebio Leal, Nuria Gregori, Nancy Morejón, Rogelio Martínez Furé; the Americans Mirian De Costa-Willis, Ian Smart and Marvin Lewis; the Colombian Nina Friedemann; the Mexican Luz Marina Martínez Montiel; the Uruguayan Ildefonso Pereda Valdéz; the Canadian Richard Jackson; the German Janheinz Jahn; the Spaniard Luis Beltrán, to name just a few.

His first poem appeared in the Newspaper El Mundo, and some have been translated into Italian and German and have been anthologized several times.

"Cumbele Macumbele" 1938
"Cubandalucía", both belonging to compilations of the so-called Afro-Cuban poetry, from 1957.
"Nicolás Guillén, el antillano domador de sones."
"Caridá" (1933)
"Amalia"
"Canción negra sin color"

He belonged as a member to the Society of Afro-Cuban Studies and was a prolific writer whose articles appeared in the newspapers and magazines of the time. He is one of the most distinguished representatives of Afro-Cuban poetry. This is confirmed by scholars of African-American culture, such as the Cubans Nancy Molejón, Georgina Herrera, Nicia Agüero, Rogelio Martínez Furé; the Americans Miriam DeCosta Willis, Marvin Lewis, to name just a few. Negritude in Arozarena was never fashion, but manner. He did not take on this subject matter in a contemplative, cosmetic sense, as if to folklorize it. All his work reflects a strong commitment to his race, to his class, and to his time. Professors Celia Pinto and Georgina Arozarena Himely (daughter of the deceased poet) designed and personally coordinate a sociocultural project to promote his life and work.

Since 1996, his daughter Georgina Arozarena Himely has carried out various actions to promote the work of the poet. Starting in January 2004, she created the Community Sociocultural Project "Dreams with Awake Mind", a bubble of neighborhood civicism, inspired by Arozarena's work. The headquarters of the Project is the René Orestes Reiné Municipal Public Library of Diez de Octubre. The Municipal Department of Culture granted Marcelino the status of "Distinguished Son" 20 years ago.