The Minorista Group (Spanish: Grupo Minorista) was an avant-garde group of Cuban artists, writers, philosophers, poets, and others collectively called the "vanguard of the intelligencia," active during the 1920s that had an enormous influence on events in Cuban politics and society in the early half of the twentieth century. [1] [2] The Minorista Group was founded in 1923 by Rubén Martínez Villena. [1] [3] The Minorista Group was created after the events of the Protest of the Thirteen, which had been led by Villena, and came to challenge the administration of Alfredo Zayas y Alfonso. [4] The original protest was against the sale of the Santa Clara convent by the government for corrupt purposes. [5]
The group met on Saturdays at the Hotel Lafayette in Havana. [5]
The Minoristas were not only officially responsible for the creation of Revista de Avance , but also primarily held the leadership roles at the popular magazine Social. [6] [7]
In 1926, no fewer than eleven Minoristas collaborated to write the novel "Fantoches 1926." [5] Each month, a different member would contribute a chapter to the book. Carlos Loveira wrote the first and last chapters of the book. [5] The final chapter of Fantoches 1926 was illustrated by Conrado Walter Massaguer. [5] Fantoches 1926 was published in twelve serial installments in Social. [8]
In 2023, on the Centenary of the Minoristas founding, the German artist Hans Winkler opened an exhibit called the "Minorista Cafe," at the Cuban National Museum of Fine Arts. This exhibit was intended to show a link between the Minoristas and the Dada movement. [9]
Cuban literature is the literature written in Cuba or outside the island by Cubans in Spanish language. It began to find its voice in the early 19th century. The major works published in Cuba during that time were of an abolitionist character. Notable writers of this genre include Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda and Cirilo Villaverde. Following the abolition of slavery in 1886, the focus of Cuban literature shifted. Dominant themes of independence and freedom were exemplified by José Martí, who led the modernista movement in Latin American literature. Writers such as the poet Nicolás Guillén focused on literature as social protest. Others, including Dulce María Loynaz, José Lezama Lima and Alejo Carpentier, dealt with more personal or universal issues. And a few more, such as Reinaldo Arenas and Guillermo Cabrera Infante, earned international recognition in the postrevolutionary era.
Alejandro García Caturla was a Cuban composer of art music and creolized Cuban themes.
Víctor Manuel García Valdés was a Cuban painter. He was an early member of the "Vanguardia" movement of artists who, beginning in the 1920s, combined European concepts of Modern art with native Primitivism to create a distinctly Cuban aesthetic.
Raúl Roa García was a Cuban intellectual, politician and diplomat. He served as Foreign Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976. He was a lawyer and was also a university professor in the 1940s and 1950s. He was also Director of Culture of the Ministry of Education from 1949 to 1951.
Regla Teresa García Rodríguez, known as Teté Caturla, was a Cuban singer who directed the vocal group Cuarteto d'Aida. She was the daughter of Alejandro García Caturla, one of the most important Cuban composers of the 1920s and 1930s.
Rubén Martínez Villena was a Cuban writer and revolutionary leader.
The University of Havana is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originally a religious institution, today the university has 15 faculties (colleges) at its Havana campus and distance learning centers throughout Cuba.
The Marianao baseball club played in the Cuban Professional League from the 1922–1923 season through to the 1960–1961 season. The club represented the populous town of Marianao in Havana and played their games at La Tropicana Stadium, official site of the league.
Mariblanca Sabas Alomá was a Cuban feminist, journalist and poet. A political activist, she was also a Minister without portfolio in the Cuban government under Carlos Prio. Her writing was devoted to the cause of women's rights, particularly the right to vote.
Sarah Méndez-Capote y Chaple was a Cuban writer, poet, translator, suffragist, and feminist activist. She was the sister of writer Renée Méndez Capote.
Bohemia Magazine , is a Spanish language illustrated magazine based in Havana, Cuba, that was founded in 1908. It is the oldest general consumer magazine in Cuba, and the oldest magazine in all of Latin America. It provides articles relating to political commentary, long-form journalism, history, historical analysis, and fashion advice. It claims to be the first magazine to publish the work of Cuban artists in full color.
Dulce María Serret Danger was a Cuban pianist and music teacher. She studied in Spain and France, and toured in Europe for several years before returning to Cuba, where she taught for most of the rest of her life.
Agustín Acosta y Bello (1886-1979) was a Cuban poet, essayist, writer and politician. Acosta is considered by historians to be one of the most important Cuban writers of the twentieth century, and one of the three most important poets in the entire history of Cuba. Acosta was a revolutionary activist, and his poetry reflected his Cuban nationalism. He was both the National Poet of Cuba and also one of its Senators, when the Republic still existed. He won awards for his poetry, but also spent time as a political prisoner for criticizing the Cuban President. He lambasted the hegemonic powers of the United States in the Caribbean, but also went into exile there in the last years of his life.
Conrado Walter Massaguer y Diaz was a Cuban artist, political satirist, and magazine publisher. He is considered a student of the Art Nouveau. He was the first caricaturist in the world to broadcast his art on television. He was first caricaturist to exhibit on Fifth Avenue. He was the first caricaturist in the world to exhibit his caricatures on wood. He, and his brother Oscar, were the first magazine publishers in the world to use photolithographic printing.
José Manuel Acosta y Bello was a Cuban painter, photographer, cartoonist, sculptor, and artist. He graduated with first letters from a Catholic Seminary. After graduating, he became a clerk of an "old style" business house, commission agent, bookkeeper, used car salesman, alcohol tax inspector, and failed business shareholder.
Social was a Cuban magazine created by the brothers Conrado Walter Massaguer and Oscar H. Massaguer, and was one of the most important magazines in Cuba in the early half of the twentieth century. Through this magazine, Cuba was introduced to the Art Deco movement. Social was the first magazine in the world to use photolithographic printing.
Carteles was a Cuban magazine created by the famous brothers Oscar H. Massaguer and Conrado Walter Massaguer, who had already created the successful magazine Social. Carteles overtook Social, however, and gained the widest circulation of any magazine in Latin America. It became the most popular magazine in Cuba for a time, until that title was claimed by Bohemia. This magazine showcased Cuban commerce, art, sports, and social life. In the early half of the twentieth century, when Cuba was still a republic prior to the communist revolution, Carteles was immensely popular with the Cuban middle class. For most of its existence, it was helmed by the director Alfredo T. Quiléz.
El Fígaro was a Cuban magazine published in Havana from 1885 to 1929, with irregular publications continuing until 1933. It began as a sports magazine, but evolved into a more general interest consumer magazine and became "the driving force of the Cuban press and of national culture." El Fígaro included sections on theatre, literature, music, and current affairs. Many of Cuba's early revolutionary writers, poets, painters, artists, journalists, and activists contributed to this magazine.
Don José Ignacio "Pepín" Rivero y Alonso was a Cuban journalist and the 14th director of Diario de la Marina, which was the oldest and most popular newspaper in Cuba. He is considered to be "one of the most subtle writers of his time and one of the best writers of Spanish-American journalism in the 20th century". The journalist Gerardo Gallegos wrote upon his death that Rivero was "the most hated and, at the same time, the most beloved Cuban of his time." He took over management of Diario de la Marina from his father, the 1st Count of Rivero, Nicolás Rivero y Muñiz. He also inherited from his father the unofficial title of Decano de la Presna. His directorship of Diario de la Marina ran from 1919 until his death in 1944. His older brother, Nicolás Rivero y Alonso, became the 2nd Count of Rivero, and was the first Cuban Ambassador to the Holy See in 1935. Rivero was the first Cuban to earn the Maria Moors Cabot Prize in 1941.