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Cuba, Castro, and the not-so-secret history of Reinaldo Arenas, Part 3

PLEASE NOTE: This article is part one in a four part series about Cuba and the Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas. You can find part one of this series here, part two here and part four here. If you have not read the previous parts of this series, please do so before reading this. The entire series is collected in one post here. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes contained within this series are taken from Reinaldo Arenas’ autobiography “Before Night Falls” translated by Dolores M. Koch.

“Come, demon.” - Arthur Rimbaud

The sun was hot and the water was warm in the summer of 1973. Reinaldo Arenas and his friend Pepe Malas were enjoying a swim at Guanabo Beach when they discovered that they had been robbed off all their belongings, including their clothes and bags. Against Reinaldo’s protestations, Malas called over a nearby police officer and reported the theft. The young thieves were quickly apprehended by the police and both Arenas and Malas were requested to appear at the Havana police department the following day.

Reinaldo Arenas was filled with apprehension; he feared a police trap. Unfortunately for him, his premonition was correct. The young thieves accused Arenas and Malas of being homosexuals who had tried to fondle their genitals. Because under Castro’s law “in the case of a homosexual committing a sexual crime, anyone’s accusation was enough to prosecute”, both Reinaldo Arenas and Pepe Malas were immediately arresting for the corruption of minors and brought to the Guanabo jail.

After Reinaldo Arenas was released on bail he met with his appointed lawyer… and realized the situation was far more dire than he could have ever guessed. His terrified attorney showed him an overflowing file filled with information about Arenas’ illegal overseas publications and statements against him from some of his closest friends. Because Arenas had published overseas without Castro’s permission he was seen as a counter-revolutionary and a threat to Castro’s regime. Between these publications and the sworn statements by his friends against him, Reinaldo Arenas was now facing charges for political crimes and was looking at eight years or more in jail. 

Arenas was arrested again the next day and was taken to the Patu Miramar police jail. Shortly after his arrival at the jail, there was a brief commotion and his cell door was left unlocked. In an incredibly daring move, Reinaldo slipped the lock off the door, quietly left the station and dove into the water nearby. It was an amazing escape, and Arenas was able to swim to a distant beach where he wouldn’t be quickly apprehended.

His situation now turning more desperate by the minute, Reinaldo Arenas decided to risk an escape to Guantanamo Bay in the hopes he could reach US soil. He shaved off his long hair, donned a set of threadbare clothes and took a three day long train ride to Guantanamo. Under the cover of night, Reinaldo Arenas set out for the first river crossing that would take him to safety. However, when he reached the river he heard strange crackling noises in the water. Suddenly, bright green lights appeared around him and machine gun fire rang out in the night. The lights were infrared sensors – the Cuban border patrol had sensed an intruder and began hunting him. Terrified, Reinaldo scaled a tall tree and hid there for two days and nights until the search was over.

When Arenas finally descended from his hiding place in the tree he tried again to cross the river. It was only after he began his swim across the dark river that he discovered the source of those odd crackling sounds. The river was filled with alligators – the cracking sound was the gnashing of their teeth. With so many predators in the water there was simply no way to cross. Defeated, Reinaldo Arenas was forced to return to Guantanamo.

After wandering through Guantanamo for three days with no food or money, Reinaldo Arenas joined up with a group of draft dodgers who were planning on jumping trains to get to Havana. Upon his return to Havana Arenas hoped he would be able to find refuge with some of his friends and try to escape Cuba through the French Embassy.

Reinaldo managed to get his friends Juan and Jose Abreu to deliver a letter to the French Ambassador begging for asylum. The Ambassador refused to help, but Reinaldo’s loyal friends the Camachos sent Juan Lagaurde to try and smuggle Arenas out of Cuba. The plan failed as well, and a desperate Arenas began to write letters to the Red Cross, The UN, UNESCO and foreign dignitaries. Laguarde was able to smuggle these letters out of Cuba and they were published in newspapers around the world:

I wanted to report all the persecution I was being subjected to, and began as follows: “For a long time I have been the victim of a sinister persecution by the Cuban Regime.” I went on to list the censorship and the harsh treatment that we Cuban writers had suffered and to name all the writers who had been executed… In one paragraph I explained the situation I was in and how, as persecution was escalating, I was wiring those lines in hiding, while waiting for the most sinister and criminal state apparatus to put an end to my existence. And I stated: I want now to affirm that want I am saying here is the truth, even though under torture I might later be forced to say the opposite.

Yes, this is the Cuban regime Michael Moore praises. How wonderfully Castro treats his people! How kind and benevolent he is! Look at how well he treats his gifted writers and artists! Michael Moore, how can you read these desperate words and still find the gall to praise Castro’s regime that hunted this man simply for being a writer?!?

But I digress once again. Back to Reinaldo Arenas….

After the publication of his letters, Reinaldo Arenas found himself in a desperate situation. The majority of his friends either exiled or informed on him and one burned the whole of Arenas’ written work that he had been hiding. A total of twelve books were lost forever. The Abreu brothers remained allies and told Reinaldo that Castro had put out an order to have Reinaldo Arenas captured immediately due to the international scandal his letter had caused.

There was nowhere to hide anymore. After ten days without any real food or water, Reinaldo Arenas emerged from the ditch where he had been sleeping to try to buy a bite of ice cream. He was immediately apprehended by the police and was transferred immediately to the infamous and deadly El Morro Prison.

Morro Castle had been a medieval colonial fortress at Havana Port that had been converted into a hellish jail. The cells were huge wards where up to 50 prisoners were jammed into one cell. The toilet was a hole in the ground and with no toilet paper and everything and everyone was covered in feces. The smell and the noise were overwhelming. The treatment of homosexuals was abhorrent. They were held in underground wards that filled with water at high tides, starved, and treated like beasts.

Perhaps the most shocking fact about El Morro was that everyone from mere traffic offenders to mass murderers were stuffed together in the cells. Some of the crimes for which people had been imprisoned seemed simply insane:

There was, for example, an unfortunate father with all his sons, who had been sentenced to five years because they had killed one of their cows to feed the family, something Castro’s laws did not allow… Many inmates in my ward said there they were in jail because they had committed ‘penicide’. This was the name they had given to the rape of women and minors. But penicide included almost anything. For example, one of my fellow prisoners was there because some old ladies had seen him taking a shower, in the nude, in his own backyard and denounced him.

Terrified of torture and the prison conditions, Reinaldo Arenas took an overdose of pills in a desperate suicide attempt. He woke up three days later in the prison hospital – it was in fact a miracle he survived. Back in Ward 7, Reinaldo learned to survive the worst of El Morro by writing letters for prisoners and giving French lessons. He also quickly learned to hide and ration his meager food to avoid starvation when the guards neglected to feed the prisoners.

Indeed, the guards at El Morro were sadistic. They routinely gang-raped the young prisoners and those who fought back were mutilated. The guards regularly beat the prisoners for no reason and without any mercy. Needless to say, many of the inmates were driven crazy by the routine torture and conditions. They manufactured weapons from sticks, nails and razors to defend themselves from the guards and other prisoners. Suicides were all too common. The prisoners were allowed access to the roof about once a month, and many used that opportunity to throw themselves over the edge, dashing their bodies on the rocks. Others hung themselves, and still others would kill other prisoners simply so they would be executed for it.

The horrors and atrocities that occurred within the walls of El Morro cannot be conveyed with words. Indeed, I find myself now at a loss to continue to describe the beatings, torture, mutilation, isolation, degradation, and murder of all those poor souls. Reading these stories and thinking about these horror fills me with a rage and sadness I can barely contain.

But what I need to understand is how Michael Moore could know of such atrocities and *STILL* lavish praise upon Castro and his regime! Mr. Moore… how could you possibly condone such atrocities against humanity? Reinaldo Arenas was an artist, a writer. He was thrown into a hellish prison and subjected to incredible violence SIMPLY FOR BEING AN ARTIST.

Mr. Moore… do you not realize that if you were Cuban your work and actions would have you in the same place as Reinaldo Arenas? You take pride – as well you should – for being able to create art that makes political statements. Reinaldo Arenas and countless other artists, writers, and dramatists were thrown in jail, tortured, forced to recant their work and then executed for doing exactly that. Do you not see that if you were Cuban you would have suffered the same fate as these poor Cuban artists? You say you are a defender of humanity and that you want all humans treated with dignity and care. Why are you not denouncing these horrors? How could you possibly defend a system where you yourself would ultimately meet your death for the type of work you create? Do you not understand that if you were Cuban and made a version of Fahrenheit 9/11 about Castro you would have been executed? Knowing this… how can you possibly defend Castro in any way?

I have let my anger impede this story again. Back to Reinaldo Arenas….

It had been six months and Reinaldo Arenas had still not been brought to trial. One day he was abruptly taken to a “penalty cell” – a tiny box less than a meter high with a dirt floor and a hole for a toilet. He was held there for days without food or water before being brought before Lieutenant Victor, the man in charge of Arenas’ case.

Arenas’ often brutal interrogations began. He was grilled all day about how he got his work out of Cuba and sent back to the penalty cell at night. After a week of the interrogation and torture Reinaldo became afraid he might break and give up the names of his friends. Rather than risk that happening Reinaldo Arenas attempted to hang himself. He was saved and transferred to the State Security Headquarters as Villa Marista – Castro didn’t want Arenas dead before he confessed.

At Villa Marista Reinaldo was thrown into a small box of a cell with constant light and a hole in the ground for a toilet. He was starved for days before the interrogations began again. Lieutenants Victor and Gamboa told Arenas they could make him simply disappear. They were right and Reinaldo knew it – there was no way out anymore.

Reinaldo Arenas was questioned and tortured all day and night. He was often left without food or water and was subjected to steam burnings, what he called “torture similar to fire”. Neither Lieutenant would believe anything Arenas told them.

Finally, after weeks of endless torture and imprisonment, Reinaldo Arenas broke and confessed:

My confession was a long one; I talked about my life and my homosexuality, which I detested, about having ideological weaknesses and my accursed books, the likes of which I would never write again. I actually recanted all I had done in my life, my only hope for redemption being the possibility that in the future I could join and become part of the Revolution and work day and night on its behalf. Needless to say, I was requesting rehabilitation, that is, to be sent to a labor camp; and I committed myself to work for the government and write optimistic novels.

Once again I feel myself brimming with anger. Mr. Moore… read these words. Reinaldo Arenas, one of the greatest writers to ever emerge from Cuba, was tortured endlessly and forced to recant his life’s work because Castro demanded it. You have whined incessantly to the press about how the Bush administration has tried to oppress you and suppress your work. Tell me, Mr. Moore… how does it feel to read the words of an artist who was *truly* oppressed? Do you not feel shame in touting the wonders of Castro after reading about how Castro destroyed generations of great artists who, just like you, simply wanted to create art and speak openly about their government?

Back to Reinaldo Arenas…

Reinaldo Arenas’ confession appeased the Lieutenants. After four months in isolation Arenas was transferred back to El Morro to await his trial for the corruption of minors. The political charges were not taken to trial due to his confession. In a shocking turn of events, both men who Reinaldo was accused of “fondling” them recanted their testimony at trial, and Arenas was only sentenced to two years for “lascivious abuses”.

Shortly after the trial Lieutenant Victor paid Arenas a visit at El Morro. Reinaldo Arenas’ novel “The Palace of the White Skunks” – the second installment in his “pentagonia” – had just been published in France. Now the world knew Reinaldo still lived and Castro could not simply execute him. However, as punishment, he was transferred to Ward 1 – an underground dungeon filled with sewage and filth. The others in the ward were transferred out and Reinaldo Arenas – one of the greatest writers in Cuba – was left in squalor and in despair over his confession:

Before my confession I had a great companion, my pride. After the confession I had nothing; I had lost my dignity and my rebellious spirit… Now I was alone in my misery; no one could witness my misfortune in that cell. The worst misfortune was to continue living after all that, after having betrayed myself and after having been betrayed by almost everyone else.

Reinaldo Arenas was finally transferred to an “open prison” in Flores. It was an improvement over the hell of El Morro as you could at least be outdoors. The prisoners in Flores were forced to build houses and later schools from dawn until late at night. This intense forced labor had destroyed the body and health of most of the prisoners there, whose bodies were literally falling apart. Reinaldo himself could not obtain a simple dose of antibiotics to cure an infection because of the lack of medicine in Cuba.

Reinaldo Arenas was finally released in 1976 and briefly stayed with Norberto Fuentes, a State informant. Fuentes kept Arenas under constant watch and tested him repeatedly to see if he would break the promises he made in his confession. However, Arenas did manage to secretly make his way to his old house to attempt to retrieve his second version of “Farewell to the Sea”… only to find out it had been discovered by State Security and taken. Reinaldo would have to rewrite this critical third installment of the “pentagonia” for a third time.

After moving around a great deal, Reinaldo Arenas finally settled in a house with an odd woman named Elia de Calvo. She owned a typewriter – something Reinaldo had lost and desperately needed to work – and she agreed to allow Arenas to stay with her provided he fed her dozens of cats and write her memoirs. Reinaldo agreed, and while he typed Elia’s memoirs he secretly began rewriting “Farewell to the Sea” yet again.

Soon after settling in with Elia, Reinaldo learned his grandmother, who he loved deeply, had died. This news depressed him deeply, but a visit with his old mentor Lezama Lima raised his spirits. Virgilio Pinera also visited with Lima and Arenas that night and the three talked about literature for hours. Upon Reinaldo’s leaving, Lima took Arenas aside and told him that, no matter what happened to him or anyone else… keep writing!

Only a short time after this inspirational visit, Reinaldo Arenas was given a newspaper that simply read “Lezama Lima was buried today”. His friend and mentor had died and the public hadn’t even been informed of his death until after Lima’s funeral and burial. The death of both Lezama and his grandmother sent Reinaldo into a deep depression that lasted for months.

Reinaldo, hoping to find a new home, met Ruben Diaz who offered to sell Arenas a room at the Monserrate Hotel. The place was a dump; it was run down, had no toilets, water or electricity and was full of roaches. After coercing some money from his aunt Reinaldo bought the room and moved in. This was a dangerous move as Castro had forbidden the sale of property in Cuba, but Reinaldo simply wanted to be as free as he could be.

Arenas hadn’t been living at the Monserrate for long before receiving a visit from a couple from France sent by the Camachos to check on Arenas’ well-being. Needless to say, the couple was horrified to see the state in which Reinaldo was living, but the visit was a blessing. Arenas had finished rewriting “Farewell to the Sea” and the couple was able to smuggle it out of Cuba to France.

And then, something extraordinary happened to Reinaldo Arenas. He fell in love with a man named Lazaro Carilles. Lazaro had a terrible home life and had severe psychiatric problems for which he had been previously committed. Regardless, Reinaldo took him in to his home and Lazaro became Reinaldo’s friend and companion for the rest of his life.

In late 1978 Reinaldo Arenas made friends with an eccentric ex-prisoner named Samuel Toca. In a bold move in 1979 Castro decided to let some former political prisoners out of Cuba and Samuel Toca was one of them. Arenas gave Toca a secret message to deliver to the Camachos in France to try at all costs to get Reinaldo out of Cuba. Instead, upon his release Toca began to tell the foreign press all of Arenas’ secrets. A headline in a Spanish paper read “Reinaldo Arenas threatens suicide if not helped out of Cuba”. This scandal prompted a visit from Lieutenant Victor, who denounced Arenas as a counter-revolutionary and threatened him with arrest. Reinaldo Arenas was betrayed again.

In a horrible stroke of fate, Virgilio Pinera died shortly after this incident. Reinaldo was informed he wouldn’t be allowed to attend the funeral of his closest friend. Despite the warnings, he went anyway. At the funeral Arenas voiced the suspicions of many that Pinera’s death was suspicious, and these public pronouncements only tightened the security around him. Reinaldo Arena was facing imminent arrest simply for speaking his mind… and then his life changed forever.

In April of 1980 a bus full of passengers drove threw the gates of the Peruvian embassy begging for asylum. Castro of course demanded their immediate return but the embassy denied him. In an attempt to force the Peruvian’s hand, Castro withdrew his troops guarding the embassy. It did not have the effect Castro desired. Tens of thousands of Cubans flooded the embassy, all begging for help and asylum. This marked the first real uprising of the Cuban people against Castro.

A power struggle ensued between Castro and the Peruvians. Castro cut off the embassy’s food, water and electricity, but the Cuban people would not leave. There were 10,800 people locked inside the building and another 100,000 outside. The world press began to cover this incident in earnest, and Castro had many of the supplicants murdered or gunned down in the street.

Finally, after consultations with the Soviet Union, Castro decided to let some of his people go. He opened the port at Mariel and gave a speech vehemently denouncing those who wanted to leave:

I’ll never forget that speech – Castro looked like a cornered, furious rat – nor will I forget the hypocritical applause… The port of Mariel was then opened, and Castro, after stressing all those people were anti-social, said that precisely what he wanted was to have that riffraff out of Cuba. Posters immediately started to appear with the slogans LET THEM GO, LET THE RIFFRAFF GO.

Almost immediately thousands of boats began to leave Cuba for the United States, but the boats were mostly filled with common criminals, the insane, or spies. Because of his mental instability Lazaro got out quickly. Reinaldo applied for an exit permit at a local police station, hoping that the locals would not have his file from State Security. Reinaldo declared he was a homosexual and was granted an exit permit. He received a passport and, knowing his name would be on a list of those not to be let off the island, on his passport he changed the “e” in his last name to an “i”.

The ruse worked, and on May 4th, 1980, Reinaldo Arenas escaped Cuba on a ship called the “San Lazaro”. The ship’s captain got lost, and what should been a six hour voyage turned into a six day nightmare at sea. Nevertheless, on May 10th, the “San Lazaro” landed in Key West… and Reinaldo Arenas was at last free.

Reinaldo Arenas was finally free of Castro and was anxious to tell the world about the horrors of Cuban life. What Reinaldo Arenas never expected was that the world would not be ready to listen….

“Who would affirm that the light and the shadow do not speak? Only those who do not understand the language of the day and the night.” - Moursa-Ag-Amastan

… to be continued in part four….

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