Cuba lost an outstanding figure of letters, the poet, narrator, essayist, literary critic and translator César López , 1999 National Prize for Literature, who died this Tuesday in Havana at the age of 87 years.

López, born in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba in 1933, was one of the founders of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba , and was also a full member of the Cuban Academy of Language , and correspondent of the Spanish Academy of language.

Poetry was the literary genre that led him to become one of the most relevant voices in Cuba in the second half of the 20th century, although he also stood out in the narrative and the essay , the island's state media highlight today.

His best-known work is 'Three books on the city', awarded several times, although the volumes 'Notes for a small trip' (1965), 'First book of the city' (1967), 'The search and his sign' also stand out '(1971-1989),' Second book of the city '(1971-1989) and' Bankruptcy of perfection '(1983), among other titles.

López's narrative reveals "the everyday, the absurd or the fantastic" , and his essays, "scholars, lucid and sharp" are a relevant contribution to the study of Cuban letters, highlights the webl Cubarte.

As examples, he mentions his text on the monumental novel 'Paradiso', by the Cuban writer José Lezama Lima , or his definition of the poetic generation to which he belongs.

López studied Philosophy and Literature at the University of Havana, and in Salamanca he obtained a doctorate in Medicine , a profession he never practiced because he dedicated himself to his true passion, which was literature.

Teaching also occupied his intellectual work in Cuban universities and in other countries such as Scotland, Italy and France , as well as lectures at the College of Mexico , the University of London , and in institutions in Venezuela and Colombia.

Among the awards that he accumulated throughout his career are the OCNOS poetry award (Barcelona 1971), the medals from the universities of Turin (Italy-1986) and Malaga (Spain-1988), the distinction for National Culture in Cuba (1988) and the Knight Order of Arts and Letters of France (1994).

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