Havana, Cuba. - The sound made by the wind blowing on the bamboo warns of the existence of a mystery zone. The call of Buddhist philosophy invites to reflection from its ancient temples.
Armando Cristobal Perez seems to create with such outlook on life. The Cuban that wrote “La ronda de los rubies” more than four decades ago never gets tired of digging in the past or searching the present for new clues to the future.
The vast literary work of this foster son of Guanabacoa looks like a universal and very Cuban kaleidoscope. He brings fame and glory to the town with his presence, leaving traces of wisdom and modesty in every fellow citizen.
Reading his pages is like watching the homeland history since January 1959 through the eyes of a leading character. His voice of master of letters rises to tell the tale of the events he actually witnessed in the sands of Playa Giron (Bay of Pigs). As a combatant, he had similar courage capturing bandits in Escambray Mountain Range.
The mercenary criminals and those who sent them to Bay of Pigs have something in common with these other criminal characters of the detective novels written by Armando Cristobal
His essays on the impact on the Island of international politics, and his assessments as a member of the Ministry of the Interior on the attempts to undermine the triumphs of the Revolution are no less insightful.
Armando Cristobal Perez's intellectual and spiritual wealth does not end on his 80th birthday. This lover of painting and music enlightens us on Pepe Antonio’s village with chronicles on milestones, monuments, curious and even partly forgotten details. The pen of someone who never stops wandering through alleys, neighborhoods, passive and active information, rises to bring that data back from oblivion.
Passion rises and Lecuona, Rita, El Bola, Arrondo and names from an endless display the longing for men and women of a village rich in traditions. The waitress gives the final touches to Asuncion and “La tutelar” drags her beloved people.
Ernest Hemingway and Buddha also have significant spaces in the life of this indefatigable Marxist-Leninist. Dialectical materialism is his methodology. That's why he drinks from the strangest cultures and borrows from them whatever he finds necessary to reaffirm himself as a Cuban of the XXI century.
Armando Cristobal, Cuban artist of merit, walks faster, holds out his hand to say hello and goes home, to meditate with his muses, who keep the urge to reveal new mysteries alive.
Translated by Pedro A. Fanego
