Miguel de Cervantes Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 23 (1997) Winner
Guillermo Cabrera Infante
ギジェルモ・カブレラ・インファンテ
Guillermo Cabrera Infante
Aliases:
G. Caín / Guillermo Cain
Pen Names:
G. Caín（Pseudonym used in the 1950s for film criticism）,
Guillermo Cain（Alternate name used for film screenwriting (e.g., Vanishing Point)）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1929-04-22 （Gibara, Cuba）
- Died
- 2005-02-21 （London, United Kingdom） age 75
- Nationality
- Cuba, United Kingdom
- Languages
- Spanish
- Residence History
- Gibara (birthplace) → Havana (grew up; primary setting of his work) → Brussels (cultural attaché, 1962–1965) → Madrid (exile) → London (long-term exile; place of death)
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, essayist, translator, screenwriter, critic
- Active Years
- 1950-2005
- Influenced By
- James Joyce, Mark Twain, Deep influence of cinema/film
- Influenced
- Luis Rafael Sánchez, Fernando Velázquez Medina
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Havana | — | Journalism | — | 1950年代 | Cuba |
University of Havana
Journalism
Period:
1950年代
Country:
Cuba
Originally intended to study medicine but switched to journalism
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Miguel de Cervantes Prize | — | — | Miguel de Cervantes Prize Committee | 受賞 |
| 1964 | Premio Biblioteca Breve | Tres tristes tigres (as unpublished novel) | — | Seix Barral (publisher) | 受賞 |
Miguel de Cervantes Prize
1997
Organization:
Miguel de Cervantes Prize Committee
Result:
受賞
Premio Biblioteca Breve
1964
Work:
Tres tristes tigres (as unpublished novel)
Organization:
Seix Barral (publisher)
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Three Trapped Tigers
1966 Experimental novelAn experimental novel portraying Havana's slang and nightlife through play with language. Employs Joycean techniques to render Cuban colloquial variations into literature.
language playHavana nightlifeurban memory
Translations
- Three Trapped Tigers (English translation)
Infante's Inferno
1979 NovelAn experimental novel set in Havana. The title puns on Ravel's piece and blends reminiscence and fantasy about the city.
Havanamemorylanguage and music
Translations
- Infante's Inferno (English translation)
A View of Dawn in the Tropics
1974 NovelA novel treating tropical landscapes and memories, combining experimental elements with lyricism.
landscapememory
Holy Smoke
1985 Fictionalized non-fictionA fictionalized 'history' of cigars, recording personal attachment to cigar culture and insights.
cigarscultural history
Bibliography
- Así en la paz como en la guerra (1960)
- Twentieth Century Job (1963)
- Tres tristes tigres (1966/1967)
- Vista del amanecer en el trópico (1974)
- O (1975)
- Exorcismos de esti(l)o (1976)
- La Habana para un Infante Difunto (1979)
- Holy Smoke (1985)
- Mea Cuba (1991)
- Arcadia todas las noches (1995)
- Delito por bailar el chachachá (1995)
- Ella Cantaba Boleros (1996)
- Cine o sardina (1997)
- Vidas para leerlas (1998)
- El Libro de las Ciudades (1999)
- Everything is Made with Mirrors: Nearly Complete Stories (1999)
- Infantería (2000)
- La ninfa inconstante (2008, posthumous)
- Cuerpos divinos (2010, posthumous)
- Mapa dibujado por un espía (2013, posthumous)
Adaptations
- Vanishing Point (co-wrote screenplay, credited under alternate name)
- Under the Volcano (involvement in film adaptation)
Translations by Author
- Translation of Dubliners into Spanish (1972)
Translations of Works
- Tres tristes tigres → Three Trapped Tigers (English translation)
- La Habana para un Infante Difunto → Infante's Inferno (English translation)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- experimentalrich in language playJoycean techniques and polyphonic narration
- Recurring Motifs
- Havanamusic (bolero, cha-cha-cha, etc.)nightlifewordplay and double meanings
Health
-
sepsis2005Died of sepsis in 2005
Legacy
Guillermo Cabrera Infante is known for his language play and experimental techniques centered on Havana. Although associated with the Latin American Boom generation, he maintained an independent path. He won the Miguel de Cervantes Prize in 1997 and left a major influence on Cuban and Spanish-language experimental literature.
Archives
- Princeton University Library, Special Collections (Guillermo Cabrera Infante Papers)
In Popular Culture
- Co-wrote the screenplay for the 1971 cult film Vanishing Point (credited under an alternate name)
Trivia
- His parents were founding members of the Cuban Communist Party.
- Wrote film criticism in the 1950s under the pseudonym 'G. Caín'.
- Tres tristes tigres shows strong Joycean influence and extensive linguistic experimentation.
- Went into exile in 1965 and lived in London for many years.
- Had two daughters (Ana, Carola).