The centenary and eternal life of a multifaceted and very Cuban work were celebrated in the circle of friends. Author: Mikel Espinosa Rodriguez

Workers combing their gray hair in a mansion at 17 and H in Vedado, the capital, remember with a constant smile a good-natured man whose good manners and cheerful comments aroused deep sympathy. The vice-president of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), Enrique Nunez Rodriguez, is still loved in these domains: a famous Cuban, but a Cuban from a people who never forgot their origin in Villa Clara, in a place called Quemado de Quemado . Guinness.

“He is an idol in Quemado,” testifies Luis Morlote Rivas, president of the organization, speaking of how the people of Quemado are celebrating the centenary of the birth of their writer these days. “Nunez understood that in order to protect the Cuban identity, the homeland, you need to start with that small piece on which you came into the world and grew up. Every person from Quemada wanted to be lucky enough to touch Enrique.

His friend Elson Concepción describes him as “people loving, humorous, laughing, but always hard at work. For me, he was an extraordinary person.” And his daughter Nesi admits that, looking through her father’s files these days, she understood the reasons why he was awarded the title of National Hero of the Republic of Cuba. He never stopped writing, coming up with projects, coming up with television programs, plays, newspaper articles…

Abel Prieto Jiménez, then president of Uneac, told us about the “clean and radiant aura” of an artist who, by his mere presence, found solutions in the most difficult circumstances. Despite the fact that she was born in 1923, she struck up with him “a friendship so close, so intimate, truly rare for people of distant generations. He got very close to me, and I got very close to him. We tell each other our lives. We share secrets and have a drink.

From 1987 to 2002 Nunes published a weekly chronicle in the newspaper. rebellious youth. He was the “downstairs neighbor” of Nobel Literature Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez, but readers invariably expected his Sunday sentence: “Enrique’s word touched the hearts of this city in a special way,” Abel Prieto said. People stopped him in all parts of the country to suggest a topic for a chronicle and offer him support in his extraordinary task of memory. Enrique taught us that you can’t be an abstract patriot. Enrique’s chronicles made people feel resigned to the worst of circumstances. He had such a special, unique connection to Cuban pop culture that he gave our work team a much-needed vision.”

The president of the Casa de las Américas asks “what would Enrique write now, in the midst of the wave of neo-colonial banality that is infecting us, among reality show that go from hand to hand, gossip about entertainment, Christmas light bulbs and shopkeepers in Santa hats. “What would we need today such a chronicler as Enrique!”.

Journalist, writer and Uneac vice-president Pedro de la Hoz also remembers Núñez’s presence at Uneac well: “This is Enrique’s house.” He told us of his admiration for the qualities of an exceptional chronicler. “He entered the subject softly, with a simple yet ingenious prose, completely in control of the hook that hooks readers,” De la Hoz explained. He did not flaunt his knowledge of the subject matter he was addressing or the stylistic devices he used to communicate effectively. It would seem that he liked to get to the bottom, but this grain was seasoned many times with more than one surprise.

And many times this surprise made us laugh out loud. Because of that very Cuban and cheerful way of talking about himself, “when Enrique was announced in the National Assembly of People’s Power, because he was going to speak as a deputy, there was a murmur of anticipation, because people wanted to listen to him, by their personal grace.” According to Tubal Páez, honorary president of the Union of Cuban Journalists, Núñez “was convinced that there are truths that can only be understood through humor and that which is authentically Cuban.”

He entered “at the age of 70 into the National Assembly, where he chaired the Cuba-Italy parliamentary friendship group and was vice-president of the cultural commission. When he died, he was still an MP. He worked very seriously in his political role,” Tubal said. It was elected as a very populous municipality where
He enjoyed the sympathy of many and jokingly said, alluding to past times, before the victory of the revolution, that he did not have to pay for voting.

These puffs of humor flowed easily, constantly, like a fountain of jokes. Kike Quiñones who gave us a beautiful print I know Forne, written by Nunez in 1971 for interpretation by the incomparable reciter Luis Carbonell, believes that Enrique defended the Cuban folk theater with great success. So “vernacular” was a hallmark even of his chronicles.

Jorge Alberto Piñero (JAPE), who considers himself his student, reminds him that he was a follower and encouragement agent for a new generation of comedians. We must always remember Enrique’s role when “we started the idea of ​​creating a Center for the Promotion of Humor”. He was confident in the defining and creative role of humor in society.

Music, another passion of Nunez, was the invaluable contribution of the great Beatriz Marquez to creating an atmosphere of memories. When listening to chords Rose from France, an anthological work by Rodrigo Prats, poet and writer Miguel Barnet, honorary president of Uneac, even dared to sing. Enrique’s philosophy was deeply felt in him, who showed us that “the last thing to lose is hope, but also the last thing to lose is humour.”

As the applause ended the reminiscence, I remembered the words of Eusebio Leal Spengler at the opening of the Marti Theatre, 130 years after the opening of the Hundred Doors Colosseum, where his friend had made the theater flourish so many times. folk theatrical tradition. I looked at the pictures of the proscenium curtain on which Eduardo Robreno and Enrique Nunez Rodriguez were worshipped, and again I heard the unmistakable voice of the Historian of the City of Havana:

“…they live in my memory and in our memory. With them, in the midst of a ruined and doomed theater, we celebrated here, among the ruins, the first century (of the theatre) in 1984. Enrique, whom I remember in our last dialogue, already ill, told me that perhaps he would outlive him, Robreno, “that he is immortal” and that he would definitely be there on the day he was supposed to arrive. That day has come, and they are not here; but they are part of the intangible history, the cultural glory of our country.

Tribute on Tuesday at the National Library

In celebration of the centenary of Enrique Nunez Rodriguez, next Tuesday, May 16, at 10:30 am at the Hart Theater in the National Library, there will be a panel dedicated to his life and work. Among those invited to the discussion are Enrique Arlin Rodriguez Derivet, Laidy Fernandez de Juan, Duanis Hernandez, Quique Quiñones, Tin Cremata, Abel Prieto and Professor Isabel Cristina López.

There is a fragment projection conflictsa popular comedy television program, as well as musical accompaniment by Nyurka Gonzalez, a flutist, and Malva Rodriguez, a pianist.

Source: Juventud Rebelde