Pita Rodríguez, Félix (1909–1988)

Félix Pita Rodríguez (b. 18 February 1909; d. 1988), Cuban poet and short-story writer. Pita Rodríguez was born in Bejucal in the province of La Habana. Somewhat of an adventurer, he traveled through Mexico and Guatemala in 1926 and 1927 as an assistant to a snake-oil salesman. In the 1930s, while traveling through France, Italy, Spain, and Morocco, he wrote poems, which he published in Revista de Avance. After returning to Cuba in 1940, he joined the staff of Noticias de Hoy, the official publication of the Popular Socialist Party. He also wrote scripts for radio novels and in 1943 was voted best dramatic author of the year by the Radio and Press Association. In 1944 his play El relevo opened to much acclaim. He also translated Vietnamese literature from French.

After the Cuban Revolution of 1959, Pita Rodríguez became a full-fledged member of the cultural establishment, serving as a juror for some of its most important literary contests, including those of the Casa de las Américas and the Cuban Union of Artists and Writers (UNEAC). He was also president of UNEAC's literature section.

Among Pita Rodríguez's best-known works are El relevo (drama, 1944), El corcel de fuego (short stories, 1948), and Tobías (short stories, 1955). Cuentos completos is a collection of his short stories to 1963.

See alsoLiterature: Spanish America .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Félix Pita Rodríguez: The Author and His Work (1973) is very informative and has a good bibliography. See also Aimée González Bolaños, La narrativa de Félix Pita Rodríguez (1985).

Additional Bibliography

Howe, Linda S. Transgression and Conformity: Cuban Writers and Artists after the Revolution. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2004.

López Lemus, Virgilio. Oro, crítica y Ulises, o, Creer en la poesía: Figuras clave de la poesía cubana del siglo XX. Santiago de Cuba: Editorial Oriente, 2004.

                                        Roberto Valero