Manuel E. Yepe: Ernest Hemingway of Cuba (June 2013)

ERNEST HEMINGWAY OF CUBA
By Manuel E. Yepe

CubaNews translation. Edited by Walter Lippmann.

Two thousand digital copies of documents submitted by Cuba to the United States will allow scholars and the general public a more complete picture of the life of novelist Ernest Hemingway.

The Finca Vigía Foundation, created in 2004 by Jenny Phillips, granddaughter of Hemingway's editor, Maxwell Perkins, working with Cuba in the preservation of documents, books and other belongings of the writer in what was his Cuban home until his death in 1961.

All American visitors who come to Cuba for the first time are surprised by the popularity of Ernest Hemingway in Cuba.

In 2011, the Cuban. Interests Section in its Washington, DC headquarters, opened in a pub that bears his name. On that occasion, the head of the Cuban delegation, Ambassador Jorge Bolanos, said the tribute was responding to what little is known in the United States on Cuba closely with this major figure of American letters.

Hemingway lived in Cuba a quarter of his life, when his literary work enjoyed great renown. It was during this period that he won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his novel The Old Man and The Sea.

He came to Cuba for the first time in 1928. He came from France en route to Key West, Florida, and spent a few hours in Havana. Years later he returned to Cuba aboard the yacht of a friend to fish. He captured nineteen marlins and that made him very fond of fishing for the rest of his life.

He was in Cuba from April to June 1932 and met new tropical flavors (mango, guava, avocado, pineapple). About these he wrote an article entitled "Needles against Morro” [Morro Castle, a colonial fortress in Havana]", published in Esquire magazine.

He returned in 1933 to write two of his best stories and found that the Cuban climate and practicing sports activities contributed to his creative energy.

He also discovered the Hotel Ambos Mundos, where he stayed for the next ten years in a room from which he watched the bay, the sea and the small boats of humble fishermen. He regularly visited landmarks of Old Havana, where he enjoyed his favorite drinks. "My mojito in La Bodeguita del Medio and my daiquirí in El Floridita", which he recommended to friends.

In 1933, he captured a 750-pound blue marlin that kept him fighting for over an hour and a half and finally broke his rod.

In August of that year, with the tyranny of Gerardo Machado next to collapse, and before leaving for Spain, he revealed to his friends that he supported the cause of the Cubans, and wished for the speedy overthrow of the "wretched tyrant". In the ship carrying him to Santander, he heard on the radio the news of Machado's overthrow.

Events in Cuba in the 1930s -the dictatorship, a revolution, a military coup and the frustration they caused- are reflected in his writing.

In his novel "Have and Have Not," 1937, a young Cuban tells the protagonist: "... we are the only truly revolutionary party. We want to finish with the old politicians (...) and the enslavement of the peasants (...) and distribute the land of the large sugar cane plantations among those who work (...) I love my poor country and would do anything to free it from this tyranny...”

Hemingway finally settled in Cuba in 1939 when he acquired, with his wife Martha Gellhorn, the Finca Vigía, in the northeast of Havana. There he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls.

In Cojimar, a fishing village, he met Gregorio Fuentes, who was the captain of the yacht Pilar and the inspiration for his masterpiece, The Old Man and the Sea.

In accepting his Nobel Prize for literature in 1954, he said: "This award belongs to Cuba, because my works were created and conceived in Cuba, in my village of Cojimar, of which I am a citizen."

Hemingway donated the Nobel Prize medal to the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, patron saint of Cuba, his "adopted nation." It is said that in 1960, Fidel Castro confessed to Hemingway that "For Whom the Bell Tolls", which he read as a student, had inspired the tactics for fighting Batista's army.

His biographer Robert Baker tells that once, when asked about the cold attitude of the United States against the Cuban Revolution, Hemingway replied that he deplored this attitude and, after twenty years of living in Cuba, he considered himself Cuban. In saying this, he took the edge of a Cuban flag and kissed it.

In 1960, he returned to the United States to be hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic. There, when he was approached by reporters and asked about Cuba, he responded: "We, the people of honor, believe in the revolution."

“For Cubans, that was Hemingway's farewell,” Jorge Bolaños noted.

June 2013.

		ERNEST HEMINGWAY OF CUBA By Manuel E. Yepe CubaNews translation. Edited by Walter Lippmann. Two thousand digital copies of documents submitted by Cuba to the United States will allow scholars and the general public a more complete picture of the life of novelist Ernest Hemingway. The Finca Vigía Foundation, created in 2004 by Jenny Phillips, granddaughter of Hemingway's editor, Maxwell Perkins, working with Cuba in the preservation of documents, books and other belongings of the writer in what was his Cuban home until his death in 1961. All American visitors who come to Cuba for the first time are surprised by the popularity of Ernest Hemingway in Cuba. In 2011, the Cuban. Interests Section in its Washington, DC headquarters, opened in a pub that bears his name. On that occasion, the head of the Cuban delegation, Ambassador Jorge Bolanos, said the tribute was responding to what little is known in the United States on Cuba closely with this major figure of American letters. Hemingway lived in Cuba a quarter of his life, when his literary work enjoyed great renown. It was during this period that he won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his novel The Old Man and The Sea. He came to Cuba for the first time in 1928. He came from France en route to Key West, Florida, and spent a few hours in Havana. Years later he returned to Cuba aboard the yacht of a friend to fish. He captured nineteen marlins and that made him very fond of fishing for the rest of his life. He was in Cuba from April to June 1932 and met new tropical flavors (mango, guava, avocado, pineapple). About these he wrote an article entitled "Needles against Morro” [Morro Castle, a colonial fortress in Havana]", published in Esquire magazine. He returned in 1933 to write two of his best stories and found that the Cuban climate and practicing sports activities contributed to his creative energy. He also discovered the Hotel Ambos Mundos, where he stayed for the next ten years in a room from which he watched the bay, the sea and the small boats of humble fishermen. He regularly visited landmarks of Old Havana, where he enjoyed his favorite drinks. "My mojito in La Bodeguita del Medio and my daiquirí in El Floridita", which he recommended to friends. In 1933, he captured a 750-pound blue marlin that kept him fighting for over an hour and a half and finally broke his rod. In August of that year, with the tyranny of Gerardo Machado next to collapse, and before leaving for Spain, he revealed to his friends that he supported the cause of the Cubans, and wished for the speedy overthrow of the "wretched tyrant". In the ship carrying him to Santander, he heard on the radio the news of Machado's overthrow. Events in Cuba in the 1930s -the dictatorship, a revolution, a military coup and the frustration they caused- are reflected in his writing. In his novel "Have and Have Not," 1937, a young Cuban tells the protagonist: "... we are the only truly revolutionary party. We want to finish with the old politicians (...) and the enslavement of the peasants (...) and distribute the land of the large sugar cane plantations among those who work (...) I love my poor country and would do anything to free it from this tyranny...” Hemingway finally settled in Cuba in 1939 when he acquired, with his wife Martha Gellhorn, the Finca Vigía, in the northeast of Havana. There he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls. In Cojimar, a fishing village, he met Gregorio Fuentes, who was the captain of the yacht Pilar and the inspiration for his masterpiece, The Old Man and the Sea. In accepting his Nobel Prize for literature in 1954, he said: "This award belongs to Cuba, because my works were created and conceived in Cuba, in my village of Cojimar, of which I am a citizen." Hemingway donated the Nobel Prize medal to the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, patron saint of Cuba, his "adopted nation." It is said that in 1960, Fidel Castro confessed to Hemingway that "For Whom the Bell Tolls", which he read as a student, had inspired the tactics for fighting Batista's army. His biographer Robert Baker tells that once, when asked about the cold attitude of the United States against the Cuban Revolution, Hemingway replied that he deplored this attitude and, after twenty years of living in Cuba, he considered himself Cuban. In saying this, he took the edge of a Cuban flag and kissed it. In 1960, he returned to the United States to be hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic. There, when he was approached by reporters and asked about Cuba, he responded: "We, the people of honor, believe in the revolution." “For Cubans, that was Hemingway's farewell,” Jorge Bolaños noted. June 2013.
		ERNEST HEMINGWAY DE CUBA Por Manuel E. Yepe Dos mil copias digitalizadas de documentos entregados por Cuba a Estados Unidos permitirán a estudiosos y público en general una visión más completa de la vida del novelista Ernest Hemingway. La Fundación Finca Vigía, creada en 2004 por Jenny Phillips, nieta del editor de Hemingway, Maxwell Perkins, trabaja con Cuba en la preservación de documentos, libros y otras pertenencias del escritor conservadas en lo que fuera su hogar cubano hasta su muerte, en 1961. Todo visitante estadounidense que llega a Cuba por primera vez se sorprende por la popularidad de Ernest Hemingway en la isla. En 2011, la Oficina de Intereses de Cuba en Washington D.C. inauguró en su sede un bar que lleva su nombre. En esa ocasión, el jefe de la representación cubana, Embajador Jorge Bolaños, explicó que el homenaje respondía a lo poco que se conoce en Estados Unidos sobre la estrecha relación con Cuba de esta figura cumbre de las letras estadounidenses. Hemingway vivió en Cuba una cuarta parte de su vida, cuando su obra literaria disfrutaba de mayor esplendor. Fue durante este periodo que obtuvo el Premio Nobel de literatura por su novela El viejo y el mar. Estuvo en Cuba por primera vez en 1928. Venía de Francia en camino a Cayo Hueso, Florida, y pasó algunas horas en La Habana. Años más tarde volvió a Cuba a bordo del yate de un amigo para pescar; capturó diecinueve agujas y aquello lo convirtió por el resto de su vida en aficionado a ese tipo de pesca. En Cuba estuvo desde abril hasta junio de 1932 cuando conoció nuevos sabores tropicales (mango, guayaba, aguacate, piña). Sobre ellos escribió en un artículo titulado “Agujas frente al Morro”, publicado en la revista Esquire. Regresó en 1933 para escribir dos de sus mejores relatos y constató que el clima cubano y las actividades deportivas que practicaba le aportaban gran energía creativa. También descubrió el Hotel Ambos Mundos, donde se alojó durante los siguientes diez años en una habitación desde la cual observaba la bahía, el mar y las pequeñas embarcaciones de humildes pescadores. Visitó asiduamente lugares emblemáticos de La Habana Vieja, donde disfrutaba sus bebidas favoritas. “Mi mojito en La Bodeguita del Medio y mi daiquirí en El Floridita", recomendaba a sus amigos. En 1933 capturó una aguja azul de 750 libras que le mantuvo luchando por más de una hora y media y finalmente rompió su vara. En agosto ese año, con la tiranía de Gerardo Machado próxima a sucumbir, antes de partir hacia España, reveló a sus amigos que él apoyaba la causa de los cubanos, y que deseaba el pronto derrocamiento del "tirano miserable". En la nave que lo transportaba a Santander, conoció por radio del derrocamiento de Machado. Los sucesos en Cuba en la década de 1930 -la dictadura, la revolución, el golpe militar y la frustración que causó- se reflejaron en su obra literaria. En su novela “Tener o no tener”, de 1937, un joven cubano le dice al protagonista: "…somos el único partido verdaderamente revolucionario. Queremos acabar con los viejos políticos (...) y la esclavitud de los guajiros (…) y distribuir las grandes haciendas cañeras entre quienes las trabajan (...) Adoro a mi pobre país y haría cualquier cosa para liberarlo de esta tiranía...". Hemingway se instaló definitivamente en Cuba en 1939 cuando adquirió, con su esposa Martha Gellhorn, la Finca Vigía, en el noreste de La Habana. Allí escribió Por quien doblan las campanas. En Cojímar, un pueblo de pescadores, conoció a Gregorio Fuentes, quien sería el capitán de su yate Pilar e inspiración para su obra maestra, El viejo y el mar. De su premio Nobel de literatura en 1954, dijo: "este premio pertenece a Cuba, porque mis obras fueron creadas y concebidas en Cuba, en mi pueblo de Cojímar, del que soy ciudadano". Hemingway donó la medalla del Premio Nobel a la Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, la Santa patrona de Cuba, su "nación adoptiva". Se dice que en 1960 Fidel Castro confesó a Hemingway que “Por quien doblan las campanas”, que leyó siendo estudiante, le había inspirado tácticas para la lucha contra el ejército de Batista. Su biógrafo Robert Baker relata que, al ser preguntado en una ocasión por la fría actitud de Estados Unidos hacia la revolución cubana, Hemingway respondió que él deploraba tal actitud y que, luego de veinte años de vivir en Cuba, él se consideraba cubano. Al decir esto, tomó el borde de una bandera cubana y la besó. En 1960 regresó a los Estados Unidos para ser hospitalizado en la Clínica Mayo. Allí, cuando fue abordado por los periodistas y le preguntaron sobre Cuba, respondió: “nosotros, las personas de honor, creemos en la revolución”. Para los cubanos, esa fue la despedida de Hemingway, resaltó Jorge Bolaños. Junio de 2013.