Reinaldo Arenas & Lázaro Gómez Carriles
The persecuted writer and his companion in exile
The Cuban novelist imprisoned for his work and his homosexuality, and the young man who became his inseparable companion: they fled the regime in the Mariel exodus and lived the poverty of exile together in Manhattan until the end.
01Why it matters
It is one of Latin America's great stories of queer love and loyalty, immortalized by the memoir "Before Night Falls" and Julian Schnabel's film. Lázaro gathered Arenas's final creative breath and kept his work alive.
02The conflict
The Cuban state's repression of writers and homosexuals: prison, censorship and exile. Then in New York, the AIDS advancing on Arenas and the destitution of two stateless refugees.
03The iconic moment
Arenas, ill, dictating to Lázaro the final pages of "Before Night Falls"; in his last letter, in 1990, he asked Cubans to keep fighting for freedom.
04What survived
The memoir "Before Night Falls" (1992) and the 2000 film with Javier Bardem; Arenas's literary archive, of which Lázaro was executor, and his voice as a martyr of freedom and queer love.
05What to watch, read & listen
06Where to travel
07Frequently asked questions
Why is the story of Reinaldo Arenas & Lázaro Gómez Carriles famous?
It is one of Latin America's great stories of queer love and loyalty, immortalized by the memoir "Before Night Falls" and Julian Schnabel's film. Lázaro gathered Arenas's final creative breath and kept his work alive.
How does the story of Reinaldo Arenas & Lázaro Gómez Carriles end?
Arenas, ill, dictating to Lázaro the final pages of "Before Night Falls"; in his last letter, in 1990, he asked Cubans to keep fighting for freedom. The memoir "Before Night Falls" (1992) and the 2000 film with Javier Bardem; Arenas's literary archive, of which Lázaro was executor, and his voice as a martyr of freedom and queer love.
Where can you visit the story of Reinaldo Arenas & Lázaro Gómez Carriles?
You can visit Old Havana, in La Habana. The city of his youth and his persecution.
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