José Ramón Álvarez Silva

José Ramón Álvarez Silva (1917-1966)

José Ramón Álvarez Silva was born in Güines on March 5, 1917 within an old and prestigious Güinero family. When he was very young, at the closure of Cuba’s high schools during President Machado’s Government, he went to the United States, graduating from high school from Eton College, North Carolina. He returned to Cuba graduating from high school at Havana High School #1. In 1942, he graduated as Doctor in Pedagogy and Philosophy and Literature from the University of Havana as well as Doctor in Diplomatic and Consular Law.

Teacher, journalist and poet, he occupied several Chairs at Lyceum Petion and University of Port-au-Prince in Haití, writing a book used as a text to teach the Spanish language.

He returned to Cuba in 1944 where he earned by opposition, placing first, the Spanish and Literature Chair of Cuba’s High Schools, being first appointed as Professor of Holguín High School, transferring afterwards to Güines High School and later on to Havana High School.

He founded the Herald of Haití and International Herald newspapers and contributed to Chic, Prensa Libre (Free Press) and other publications, doing translations to English, French, Italian and Portuguese, being fluent in several languages.

In 1960 he went into exile and resided in Puerto Rico where he was Professor of Literature at University of Puerto Rico, teaching also summer courses of Spanish Literature at Middlebury University in Vermont, United States.

His works include ,Geografía de Cuba (Geography of Cuba), Oriente (Orient) and Volutas (Spirals), Amor de madre (Mother’s Love), Hélice (Helix), Clepsidra (Clepsydra) and Canto a la bandera cubana (Song to the Cuban Flag). He published a book in refined prose, about Oscar Wilde and others.

He died on September 18, 1966 in San Juan, Puerto Rico at 49 years of age.

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