Cuban prez laments death of popular playwright Eugenio Hernández

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Saturday lamented the death of Eugenio Hernández Espinosa, National Theater Award in 2005 and Literature Award in 2020, and one of the classic playwrights of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean island. He was 85.
From his profile on the social network Twitter, the president described this renowned contemporary writer as “a much-loved and essential man in the culture of the Caribbean nation,” and sent his deepest condolences to his family and friends, according to Prensa Latina, the Cuban news agency.
Following the news of Hernández’s death, on Friday in Havana, Cuban Minister of Culture, Alpidio Alonso alluded to “the creator of dozens of theatrical plays, which have been taken on by the country’s main groups and adapted to cinema and television, among them, Mi socio Manolo,” Prensa Latina said.
The Consejo Nacional de las Artes Escénicas mentioned Hernández’s itinerary linked to popular art and the authentic expressions of the national dramatic tradition and mentioned the conception of plays such as María Antonia, Calixta Comité, Emelina Cundiamor or Lagarto Pisabonito.
The National Library of Cuba described Hernandez Espinosa as “one of the greats of the island’s cultural panorama” and the Bamboleo Orchestra recognized him as “founder and director of the Caribbean Theater Group and his distinction as an emeritus artist,” according to Prensa Latina.
It said Hernández writer also served on the juries of the Casa de las Americas Literary Award, the Havana Festival of New Latin American Cinema and the Literary Contest of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac).
In 1995, he was awarded the Alejo Carpentier Medal by the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba, Prensa Latina said.
The National Council for the Performing Arts of Cuba (CNAE) said in a statement that “Cuban culture is in mourning.
“An immense man has passed away, our National Theater Award (2005) and National Literature Award (2020), Eugenio Hernández Espinosa,” it said.
Archysport.com said that the Cuban intellectual, who was born in the municipality of El Cerro, in 1936, was linked to the literary group El Puente and the Dramaturgy Seminar of the National Theater of Cuba, and was considered “one of the most important contemporary Cuban playwrights.”
The Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac) also communicated the news of Hernández Espinosa in its virtual spaces, and recognized him as one of the classic authors of Cuban dramaturgy, according to Archysport.com.