Cirilo Villaverde – författare

Cecilia Valdés is arguably the most important novel of 19th century Cuba. Written in 1882 by Cirilo Villaverde in exile in New York City, but set in the Havana of the 1830s, the novel recounts a story of the moral, political, and sexual depravity caused by slavery and colonialism. The heroine of the novel, the beautiful light-skinned mulatta named Cecilia, is being pursued by Leonardo, the son of a Spanish slave trader. Unbeknownst to the two, they are the children of the same father. Eventually Cecilia gives in to Leonardo's advances; she becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl. When Leonardo, who is getting bored with his mistress, agrees to marry a white upper class woman, Cecilia vows revenge. A mulatto friend and suitor of hers kills Leonardo, and Cecilia is thrown into prison as an accessory to the crime. Rich in social and historical detail, Cecilia Valdés opens a window into the intricate problems of race relations in the Caribbean, the interactions between sexual, social, and racial oppression, and the lived experience of colonialism.

Cecilia Vald''es is arguably the most important novel of 19th century Cuba. Originally published in New York City in 1882, Cirilo Villaverde''s novel has fascinated readers inside and outside Cuba since the late 19th century. In this new English translation, a vast landscape emerges of the moral, political, and sexual depravity caused by slavery and colonialism. Set in the Havana of the 1830s, the novel introduces us to Cecilia, a beautiful light-skinned mulatta, who is being pursued by the son of a Spanish slave trader, named Leonardo. Unbeknownst to the two, they are the children of the same father. Eventually Cecilia gives in to Leonardo''s advances; she becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl. When Leonardo, who gets bored with Cecilia after a while, agrees to marry a white upper class woman, Cecilia vows revenge. A mulatto friend and suitor of hers kills Leonardo, and Cecilia is thrown into prison as an accessory to the crime. For the contemporary reader Helen Lane''s masterful translation of Cecilia Vald''es opens a new window into the intricate problems of race relations in Cuba and the Caribbean. There are the elite social circles of European and New World Whites, the rich culture of the free people of color, the class to which Cecilia herself belonged, and then the slaves, divided among themselves between those who were born in Africa and those who were born in the New World, and those who worked on the sugar plantation and those who worked in the households of the rich people in Havana. Cecilia Vald''es thus presents a vast portrait of sexual, social, and racial oppression, and the lived experience of Spanish colonialism in Cuba.

Cecilia Vald''es is arguably the most important novel of 19th century Cuba. Originally published in New York City in 1882, Cirilo Villaverde''s novel has fascinated readers inside and outside Cuba since the late 19th century. In this new English translation, a vast landscape emerges of the moral, political, and sexual depravity caused by slavery and colonialism. Set in the Havana of the 1830s, the novel introduces us to Cecilia, a beautiful light-skinned mulatta, who is being pursued by the son of a Spanish slave trader, named Leonardo. Unbeknownst to the two, they are the children of the same father. Eventually Cecilia gives in to Leonardo''s advances; she becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl. When Leonardo, who gets bored with Cecilia after a while, agrees to marry a white upper class woman, Cecilia vows revenge. A mulatto friend and suitor of hers kills Leonardo, and Cecilia is thrown into prison as an accessory to the crime. For the contemporary reader Helen Lane''s masterful translation of Cecilia Vald''es opens a new window into the intricate problems of race relations in Cuba and the Caribbean. There are the elite social circles of European and New World Whites, the rich culture of the free people of color, the class to which Cecilia herself belonged, and then the slaves, divided among themselves between those who were born in Africa and those who were born in the New World, and those who worked on the sugar plantation and those who worked in the households of the rich people in Havana. Cecilia Vald''es thus presents a vast portrait of sexual, social, and racial oppression, and the lived experience of Spanish colonialism in Cuba.

Cirilo Villaverde es universalmente recordado y reconocido por la que se considera su obra cumbre, la novela Cecilia Valdés, un excelente retrato de la cultura cubana en las primeras décadas del siglo XIX.No por eso debemos olvidar obras menores de Villaverde que muestran en detalle las costumbres y ambiente de su época. Este es, sin lugar a dudas, el caso de Dos amores, escrita en 1843. Este tipo de relato costumbrista y popular, contribuyó decisivamente a la consolidación del género en su país.El argumento, muy en la línea de las tramas folletinescas, no se caracteriza por su originalidad, pero nos ofrece una sucesión de escenas populares de acentuado color local. La historia Dos amores es tan sencilla que se puede resumir en pocas palabras:Pérez, un hombre de negocios que tiene tres hijas, resulta despojado de su fortuna por un empleado de confianza.Teodoro Weber, de quien no sabemos casi nada hasta el final de la obra, está enamorado de la hija mayor, Celeste, y afortunadamente puede salvar al padre de una ruina total.

«La peineta calada» es una novela de Cirilo Villaverde. Andrés está casado con la bella Dolores, pero, a pesar del amor sincero que le profesa ella, el joven la traiciona con otra mujer: Rosario. Aunque al principio el engaño de Andrés parece tener éxito, el conflicto es inevitable. Un admirador celoso y un regalo inoportuno (una peineta) serán los elementos que precipitarán el desenlace.

«Cecilia Valdés» es la obra más célebre del escritor cubano Cirilo Villaverde. Esta novela romántica y costumbrista narra la historia de Cecilia, una hermosa mulata criolla que ignora que es la hija ilegítima del rico español Cándido Gamboa, y la historia de Leonardo, hijo de Cándido, que desconoce su parentesco con Cecilia y se enamora de ella. Más allá del enredo amoroso, la novela denuncia el sistema esclavista y las convenciones sociales que aprisionan a todos los personajes.