US, Cuba Relations: Cuban-American Poet Richard Blanco to Read Poem at Re-Opening of US Embassy in Havana
Cuban-American poet Richard Blanco, who has said that he was "made in Cuba, assembled in Spain, imported to the USA," announced via Facebook on Wednesday that he will read a new poem at the re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana on Friday.
Blanco was born in Madrid after his family emigrated there due the Cuban exile, and 45 days later they moved to Miami, where he was raised. After only a few weeks of life, Blanco already belonged to three nations, and this helped to shape his outlook, his life and his work.
Last year, Blanco published his memoir, "The Prince of los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood," a piece of writing that captures Blanco's coming of age tale as a child of Cuba who has struggled to understand his sexual and artistic identities. The book uses humor to explore the complexities of navigating two imaginary worlds: the Cuba of the 1950s that his family longed for and his own idealized America. Just one year after the release of that book, Blanco gained an opportunity to use poetry to speak to the Cuban and American experience.
"I've had to keep this a secret for months, but it's finally out: The U.S. Department of State has asked me to write a poem for the re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, which I will read at the ceremony on Aug. 14 in Havana!" Blanco said in the Facebook post. "So incredibly emotional for me -not only to witness this historic moment, but also to be asked to be part of it, I'm humbled, honored, and elated."
Additionally, Blanco told MSNBC during a live interview that the poem reconciles dividing loyalties and heritage between two countries, and he anticipates the poem will provide "an emotional place of reconciliation, a place of, perhaps, healing."
Blanco is no stranger to commemorations. In fact, the author wrote and delivered the poem "One Today" for President Barack Obama's second inauguration in 2013. Blanco is the first immigrant, the first Latino, the first openly gay person and presently the youngest person to be the U.S. inaugural poet.
While Blanco often explores his Cuban identity in his writing, he's also stated in a 2012 interview with La Bloga that he reserves the right to "write about anything I want, not just my cultural identity. Aesthetically and politically, I don't exclusively align myself with any one particular group -- Latino, Cuban, gay, or 'white' -- but I embrace them all. Good writing is good writing. I like what I like."
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