María Elena Cruz Varela
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María Elena Cruz Varela (born 17 August 1953) is a Cuban human rights activist and poet. She became known as a leader within the Cuban opposition movement in the early 1990s, writing a popular pamphlet listing grievances against the government and demanding reforms, including national debates and free elections. Cruz Varela served a two-year custodial prison sentence between 1991 and 1993 on charges of "illegal association" and "defamation", during which time she was recognised by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience. In 1994, she left Cuba and currently lives in exile in the United States.
Cruz Varela was born in Colón, Matanzas Province on 17 August 1953. She later moved to Havana, where she had two children. In 1994, after leaving Cuba, she lived for a decade in Madrid, Spain, before moving to the United States, residing in Puerto Rico for a time before settling in Miami.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Writing career
Cruz Varela began publishing poetry during the 1980s, including Afueras está lloviendo (1987) and Hija de Eva (1989). The latter won her the Julián del Casal National Poetry Prize in 1989, which increased her prominence within the Cuban literary scene. Cruz Varela's work was known for its reflections on her life and activism, as well as the experiences of disadvantaged communities within Cuba.[3][7]
Following Cruz Varela's departure from Cuba in 1994, she wrote a new collection of poetry entitled Balada de la Sangre (lit. 'Ballad of the Blood'), which was published in 1996. In 2001, Cruz Varela released her autobiography, Dios en las cárceles cubanas (lit. 'God in the Cuban Jails'), in which she described her 1991 arrest and imprisonment.[3][7][8]
