Lake View East in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Reinaldo Arenas

The Legacy Walk

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, August 26, 2021

1. Reinaldo Arenas Marker

Inscription.
Reinaldo Arenas
(Gay Cuban Author and Activist)
(1943 - 1990)

Born into rural poverty in Cuba, in 1959 he became an early supporter of the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power. But Arenas became increasingly disenchanted with the revolution’s homophobic rhetoric and policies. Moving to Havana in 1963, he worked as a researcher and later as editor and journalist for the literary magazine La Gaceta de Cuba. His first novel Celestino antes del alba (1967) (Singing from the Well) was his only book published in Cuba. When open persecution of homosexuals began, in the 1960s and 1970s, he rejected the revolution. As his writings grew increasingly critical he was no longer allowed to publish on the island. His second and best-known novel, El mundo alucinante (1969) (Hallucinations), was smuggled out of the country and published abroad. During the mid-1970s Arenas spent three years in prison for his writings and public, open homosexuality. Coming to the U.S. as part of the Mariel boatlift, he eventually settled in New York. By 1980 he began to write furiously, first publishing the novella Old Rosa. The novel Farewell to the Sea

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– a manuscript once confiscated by the Cuban government – followed in 1982. The heterogeneous collection of poetry, essays and letters Necesidad de libertad (1986), was followed by the novels Graveyard of the Angels (1987) and The Doorman (1988). Suffering from AIDS and too sick to continue writing, Arenas committed suicide in 1990. In a farewell letter to the Miami newspaper Diario las Américas he wrote, “My message is not a message of failure, but rather one of struggle and hope. Cuba will be free. I already am.” By the time of his death this passionate writer turned activist had completed nine novels, an autobiography, scores of poems, plays, and short stories, and dozens of political and literary essays. Among his posthumously published works were Journey to Havana (1990) and the autobiography Before Night Falls (1992) which was made into an Academy-Award nominated film in 2000.

Erected 2012 by The Legacy Project.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Hispanic Americans. In addition, it is included in the The Legacy Walk series list. A significant historical date for this entry is December 7, 1990.

Location. 41° 56.585′ N,

Reinaldo Arenas Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, August 26, 2021

2. Reinaldo Arenas Marker - wide view

The Arenas marker is visible here mounted to a rainbow pylon that it shares with a marker for Alan Turing.

87° 38.956′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Lake View East. It is on North Halsted Street north of Buckingham Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3345 North Halsted Street, Chicago IL 60657, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Alan Mathison Turing (here, next to this marker); Keith Haring (a few steps from this marker); Walt Whitman (a few steps from this marker); Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (within shouting distance of this marker); Cole Porter (within shouting distance of this marker); Dr. Sally K. Ride (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Bayard Rustin (about 300 feet away);

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Pauli Murray (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

Also see . . .
1. Reinaldo Arenas (Wikipedia).

'Reinaldo Arenas (July 16, 1943 – December 7, 1990) was a Cuban poet, novelist, and playwright known as an early sympathizer, and later critic, of Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution, and a rebel of the Cuban government.'

(Submitted on November 16, 2021.)

2. Why Reinaldo Arenas Still Matters for Cuba’s LGBT Community (Americas Quarterly, 12/07/2016). (Submitted on November 16, 2021.)

Additional keywords. lgbt lgbtq

Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 15, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 376 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 16, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.