Another Cuban fight against the demons… and Tupac

March 19, 2020

With the death this week, at the age of 48, of Túpac Pinilla Núñez, Cuban culture lost a tireless creator, who left appreciable marks on audiovisual production, journalism and literary publishing.

A graduate in Psychology and a doctor in Psychological Sciences, he served as editor of the digital portal Cuba Literaria, of the Cuban Institute of the Book, and of the Film and Video Directory of the Cinematographic Information Center of ICAIC and was a very active member of the Hermanos Saíz Association (AHS).

In 2004 he premiered the documentary Utopías, the fictional short Necesitados and earned the Chicuelo Creation Grant from the AHS for the production of the ministories series Zapping.

Three years later, Túpac wrote and directed his work most recognized by the public and critics, Otra pelea cubana contra los demonios y el mar, in which he addressed the experiences and expectations of a community of fishermen on the northern coast of Villa Clara facing hurricanes and floods.

These days there have been multiple expressions of mourning in digital publications and social media.

The president of Casa de las Américas Abel Prieto Jiménez commented on his Twitter account: "Endowed with great talent, he was an example of creative will and love of life. I knew him and learned to admire him and love him through his grandfather Enrique Núñez Rodríguez". The composer Israel Rojas, from the duo Buena Fe, wrote these words that reflect the human and creative stature of Túpac Pinilla: "Oceans of intelligence with tons of willpower, managed physically with the index finger of the right hand. Your light accompanies us".

On Silvio Rodríguez's blog Segunda Cita some of the "second-sighters" have shared anecdotes about his personality and vision of life.

Túpac was an extraordinary being. A beauty-making machine. I remember him smiling almost always. He was witty, just as he was tireless and had bulletproof common sense. More than once I resorted to his advice and, of course, I came out ahead. He had a mind of the future.
One day we were editing at the Icaic with Túpac. There were three or four of us. We finished very late at night, when we discovered that the elevators weren't working. His wheelchair was extremely heavy and delicate: it was a great risk to lower it down the stairs and Túpac said no, not down the stairs.
The custodian couldn't locate the elevator mechanic and called the fire department. Three of them arrived at our floor, ready to lower him. They treated him with great respect, but firmly: get ready because we're going down the stairs right now.
You had to see that scene: three big men, uniformed, and Túpac in front, with a composure I have never had in my entire life, and without even raising his voice (even, without using extra words, it seemed like he was editing), convincing them that he was going to stay there until they fixed it. "Do you know how many times I've slept in this chair?", he ended with. And to the custodian: "my friends can leave if you require it, I'm staying. I won't be any trouble". And there was no threat in his tone. It was like the peace of the clairvoyant, he knew.
The firefighters left. The custodian returned to his post. Of course we all stayed. And I was convinced that superheroes existed. We stayed there, talking, delighting ourselves with the joking and memorable Túpac. Happy, like someone who has all night ahead of them.
Near dawn the mechanic appeared and we went down. Together. The most triumphant descent I remember. In the street his parents waited, with a smile. They were there, smiling. Then I admired that beautiful family very much. And still do.

Another comment refers:
One day when I was a child on my frequent trips to Havana with my family on Línea and Paseo I saw them carrying a man in a wheelchair who was resting his head on his index finger and I stared at him fixed I don't know why, perhaps because of the expression in his gaze or because of that particular quality of Túpac of resting his face on that finger. The fact is that he also looked at me fixed (and now they can kill me and I don't remember who was carrying him but I'm almost sure it was a young woman) and then I continued watching the route he was taking and I fixed on him precisely because of that characteristic...
Some time later, in twelfth grade, I read "My Life Exposed" by Enrique Núñez Rodríguez and I knew him only by word through the tender story the grandfather told about his grandson...
Then that man who rested his index finger I saw again on tv during the premiere of the video "Mamífero Nacional" by Buena Fe at the Lucas and there I understood who that person was that I had seen as a child on Línea and Paseo and as time went on I began to perceive more deeply who Túpac Pinilla was.
And look how coincidental chance is, it fell to me precisely to help him down the stairs of the Sótano theater:
-I'm a fan of your grandfather-I told him after he conveyed his thanks to me.
At the end of the moving concert I led him back to the exit and helped him up along with his wife and his mother... I asked him for his email for a future interview and I said goodbye to that man in a wheelchair who had remained in my mind transfigured in various ways: when I was a child and saw him on Línea and Paseo. The other as the grandson of that great man who was Enrique Núñez Rodríguez and in the recent past as the great intellectual that he was...
Well in the end it seems I will make an unfinished interview, but an eternal tribute to him.