On September 30th, 1922, the municipality of San Miguel del Padrón in Havana, welcomed the birth of the one who would be more than a simple farmer. At his nine years he was singing traditional cuban music, calling attention for the talent he had.

In his adolescence he kicked off to win popularity that culminated in legendary, identifying with the pseudonym of Indio Naborí, by-name that remembers the native that worked the ground, in opposition to the popular singers who in that epoch were autocalled ¨caciques¨ (indian chiefs).

His studies, long and complicated in that epoch, opened several doors to him in his life between them for the journalism, profession in which he would find overcoat for his passion.

He kicked off his works as troubador and radial writer in the broadcasting station Progreso Cubano (Radio Progreso), extoling with his peculiar and simple style. Years later he integrated the body of writing of a clandestine newspaper where he agreed with Abel Santamaría and other members of the Generation of the 100th Anniversary, moment in which he knew personally Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro.

But his works in the press would be even richer and in 1957 he joined the Bohemia magazine where he published poems, chronicles, articles and reportages for twenty-three years. His clandestine revolutionary poems would circulate in the whole country and beyond, like  ¨A sus órdenes Comandante Ramos¨ that was published in Radio Rumbos, of Caracas and in Key West, the United States, under the pseudonym of Jesus Ribona.

In 1961 he wrote articles, chronicles, poems and radial and television programs, simultaneously that organized and cheered up cultural activities in support to the National Campaign of Literacy. He was also war correspondent in the beach Girón battle and took part in meetings of writers and artists with Fidel in the National Library, where Fidel pronounced his historical speech Words to the Intellectuals.

He founded with Manuel Navarro Luna the radial program Balcón de América commenting on the Spanish-American cultural activity and integrated the body of writing of the Granma newspaper, where he obtained the journalistic award “26 de Julio” granted by the Association of Cuban Journalists (UPEC).

His letters broke the difficult barrier of the distance and from Montreal, Canada, he took part like journalist and poet in the Expo-67, and recited his poem “Nuevo credo latinoamericano” in solemn Gala for the death of the Che, with big impact in that event.

He died, after leaving an enormous number of works and history on December 29th, 2005, at the age of 83 years. The poet of so humble origin was not late in expanding the horizon of his poetry with the exercise of the journalism. The poetry is born every September 30th in the fields, because he was too big for the oblivion, the journalist Naborí is tradition and culture, but even better: Cuban.

Translated by BA in English Language, Manuel Barrera Téllez

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