Roberto Fernández Retamar (1930-2019)

Roberto Fernández Retamar was a Cuban poet, essayist, literary critic and President of the Casa de las Américas. In his role as President of the organization, Fernández also served on the Council of State of Cuba. An early close confidant of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, he was a central figure in Cuba from the 1959 Revolution. Fernández also wrote over a dozen major collections of verse and founded the Casa de las Americas cultural magazine. He dedicated his life to the dissemination of the works of José Martí through his books and the José Martí Chairs that he helped establish.