Rolando López del Amo

Since 1955 he worked as a messenger and office clerk in the western railroads of Cuba and began his literary activity with the publication of individual poems in the newspaper Excelsior (1957-58).

From the triumph of the rebellion onwards, he has held various political and administrative positions. He was president of the National Chamber Ajefista (Masonic Youth).

In 1958 he was vice president of the National Grouping of Youth Organizations of Cuba and worked with the Student section of the 26 of July Movement and with the National Workers Front. He joined Socialist Youth in 1959 and was a member of the Directing Board of the magazine Mella. The following year (1960) he joined the Commission for intellectual work within the Popular Socialist Party.

Between 1960 and 1961 he handled cultural work as a member of the Provincial Committee of Integrated Revolutionary Organizations and in 1962 he served as a professional cadre of the Provincial Bureau of the United Party of the Socialist Revolution of Cuba, while at the same time working as secretary of the Commission for Revolutionary Orientation in Havana.

In 1963 he became subdirector of Editora Política and, upon graduating in 1968 from the Enrique José Varona Higher Pedagogical Institute, he worked as a Literature professor there and at the School of Letters of the University of Havana. At the latter he was also director of the Commission for University Extension and the Center for Cuban Studies, vice dean of the Faculty of Humanities, and oversaw the publications Vida Universitaria and Universidad de La Habana.

In 1973 he joined the Foreign Service, within which he has been Political Counselor at the Embassy of Cuba in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Political Counselor of the Cuban Embassy in the People's Republic of China (1974-78), Director for Asia and Oceania at the Ministry of Foreign Relations (1978-81), ambassador and alternate permanent representative to the UN (1981-83) and ambassador to the People's Republic of China and to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (1984-88).

With the book "La vida en limpio" he obtained honorable mention in poetry in the David and 26 of July competitions in 1969. His work has been included in the anthologies Poemas David'69 (1970), Poesía de la Revolución cubana (1973), Dice la palma (1979), Poesía para la victoria (1981), Poesía cubana de amor, Siglo XX (1983), Poesía social cubana (19??) and Poesía de Cuba (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 1980).

He has been a contributor to Hoy, El Mundo, Pionero, El Caimán Barbudo, Revolución y Cultura, Granma, Verde Olivo, Bohemia, Santiago (Santiago de Cuba), Casa de las Américas, Unión, Signos (Santa Clara), La Gaceta de Cuba.

At the tribute El Autor y su obra (September 16, 2015).
He has been a jury member in the 13 of March, David, and National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba competitions. He participated in the Meeting of Fidel with the Intellectuals (1961), in the First National Congress of Culture, in the VI, VII and IX Summits of Non-Aligned Countries, in the Meeting of Universities of Latin America, among other events. He has also given lectures at the University of Panama, the Center for Latin American Studies (China), the Higher Institute of International Relations, the University of Havana and other educational centers in the country.

He has visited Austria, Mexico, German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia, Poland, United States, Spain, France, Italy, Yugoslavia, Peru, Ecuador, Hungary and most of the Asian countries. He was a founder of the National Revolutionary Militias and the Council of State has awarded him the XX Anniversary medal. He is a member of the Communist Party of Cuba and the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba.

Since 1989 he has served as director in the Directorate of International Organizations of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, as well as Director of Information, Press and Culture. From 1990 to 1992 he worked as Director of International Organizations. In 1993 he was appointed Ambassador of Cuba to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, accredited concurrently to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, to the Union of Myanmar and to the Republic of Maldives.

From 1999 until 2001 he was Director of the Documentation Directorate of MINREX. From 2002 to 2005 he served as Ambassador of Cuba, Permanent Delegate to UNESCO. From 2006 to 2010 he served as Assistant Professor at the Raúl Roa García Higher Institute of International Relations and Director of its Department of Historical, Legal and Political Disciplines.

He is currently a contributor to the Digital Magazine of Cubarte.

Awards and Honors
With the book La vida en limpio he obtained honorable mention in poetry in the David, Ismaelillo and 26 of July competitions in 1969.

Active Bibliography
Antiguas comuniones, Poetry, 78 pp, 1971
Los nombres y los días, Poetry, 205 pp, 1977
El amor y el tiempo, Poetry, 64 pp, 1985
Camino del viento, Poetry, 101 pp, 1989
La Piedra Viva, 1997
De silencios y lunas, 2005
Vecinos, 2007
Barrio Séptimo, 2009
Contar de Cuentos, 2012
Cercanas Lejanías, 2013
Cien preguntas sobre la India, in collaboration with Mercedes Crespo, 2014