Ethnologist, editor, narrator and poet. Incessant promoter of Cuban culture. He was born on November 28, 1940.

Graduated from Ethnology in 1960. He joined the founder team of Sciences Academy of Cuba, at Ethnology and Folklore Institute where he made during various years of research, particularly about religion having an African origin in Cuba and the Caribbean transculturation.

In 1966, he published Biografía de un Cimarrón (Biography of a Cimarrón) book, work having more than 60 editions in multiple languages. He is currently president of Fernando Ortiz Foundation, established by him in 1995, developing an important labor regarding to cultural roots studies in our country. He is also a significant UNESCO`s collaborator through Ruta del Esclavo Program.

Being the more published Cuban alive writer nationally and abroad, he writes also scripts for cinematographic documentals and famous Cuban films highlighting Gallego, La Bella del Alhambra (The Beauty of Alhambra) and Canción de Rachel (Rachel`s Song), all based on his novels. This last film received Goya Prize of Spain in 1990 for best Cuban movie of Spanish-speaking countries.

Received numerous distinctions in Cuba and abroad, among them, Distinction for National Culture, La Giraldilla de la Habana, National Prize of Literature in 1994 and in 2002, the International Book Fair honored his outstanding labor.

Other remarkable recognitions:
-García Lorca Prize from Andalucía, Spain.
-Medal of Colony City in Germany.
-Member of Honor Council from the Extraordinary Staff of Nuestra América at Anthropological Sciences Faculty, Autonomous University, Yucatan, Mexico.

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