National Ballet of Cuba regrets death of writer Heras León

Havana, April 13 (RHC) - The National Ballet of Cuba (BNC) mourned the death of the writer, journalist, editor and critic Eduardo Heras León, at the age of 82.

On its Facebook profile, the dance institution expressed its condolences to the family and relatives, and referred to Heras León as a friend. "From his pen came wise comments about the artistic work of the BNC and its main figures," said a post on the institutional Facebook.

The dance group also shared a passage from the book Desde la platea in a tribute text, in which Heras León recounts an experience from 1966, when he was a young journalist.

He recounted his astonishment during an investigation he was carrying out at the time in the town of La Jíquima, 50 km from the eastern territory of Holguín, when a girl from a humble peasant family did ballet steps to attract attention and her mother, disturbed, said: "this girl believes she is Alicia Alonso ».

According to the author, he never imagined that in one of the most remote places in Cuba, at that time, a village woman who had possibly never seen ballet, mentioned Alicia Alonso as the paradigm of dance.

Numerous institutions and personalities also expressed their sorrow for the death of "El chino Heras", as his friends called him.

The President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, also expressed his condolences for the death of whom he described as essential in the culture of his country.

A multitude of messages published on social networks also testify to the prestige and closeness of the writer Heras León, teacher of several generations of intellectuals.

The critic and writer died yesterday in Havana, as reported by the Cuban Book Institute (ICL), which also announced the realization of tributes in the next few hours by writers and artists in institutions attached to the Ministry of Culture.

In an official note, the ICL highlighted the legacy of Heras León, who "developed outstanding work as a ballet critic, to later establish himself as one of the most important narrative voices of his generation," the text reviewed. (Source: Prensa Latina)