Photo: @DiazCanelB

Havana, Jan 31 (RHC) The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Diaz-Canel, mourned the death of the outstanding poet Teresa Melo.

On his official Twitter account, the head of state sent a hug to the family and friends of the intellectual, who died suddenly on Monday at the age of 61 in Santiago de Cuba.

On the same social network, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero expressed his sorrow for the death of Melo, whom he considered an excellent Cuban poetess and intellectual, revolutionary, and faithful defender of Cuba.

Marrero sent condolences to her daughter, family, and friends, to Cuban culture, and to Santiago.

Floral offerings from Díaz-Canel and the Ministry of Culture arrived at the Casa del Caribe to accompany the poet's funeral honors.

Floral offerings from Díaz-Canel and the Ministry of Culture arrived at the Casa del Caribe to accompany the poet's funeral honors.

Also, offerings on behalf of Ines Maria Chapman, deputy prime minister, the PCC and the government in this southeastern territory, the Cuban Book Institute, the Provincial Committee of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), and family and friends, among others.

Teresa Melo Rodríguez (Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, October 21, 1961) was one of the paramount lyrical voices of the 1980s. She was the editor and director of Ediciones Santiago. She graduated in Philosophy from the University of Havana.

Member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba and Honorary Member of the Hermanos Saíz Association, her work has won several of the most important Cuban literary prizes, including the Nicolás Guillén of Poetry, La Puerta de Papel and Literary Criticism. She also received the Distinction for National Culture, granted by the Ministry of Culture.

Among her most renowned poems are Estefanía’s book, The wine of error, I did not want to be queen and The late hours.

In parallel with her poetic, journalistic, and essay creation, Teresa carried out extensive work as an editor and promoter of books and literature. She was director-editor of the magazine Cúpulas, of the Higher Institute of Art; she is a member of the creative teams of magazines Sic, El Caimán Barbudo, and La Jiribilla; director of the Provincial Center for Books and Literature in Santiago de Cuba; editor and director of Ediciones Santiago and literary promoter of the Caguayo Foundation. She was also the coordinator of the International Poets of the Caribbean Festival, an annual event inserted in the Festival of the Caribbean. At the time of her death, she was working as the editor of the Oriente publishing house.

She worked as a jury on numerous awards, among which are: Loynaz, Revolution and Culture Magazine, Santiago City Award, Siete primers villas, Botti, La Gaceta de Cuba Award, Biennial Literature Award, José María Heredia Award, El Caimán Barbudo Award, and Nicolás Guillén National Award.

In addition to her great artistic sensitivity and her humanistic projection, Teresa Melo stood out for her courage to defend the best causes and for her inalienable vocation of service to her Revolution and her people.

Her corpse will be veiled until 11:00 am today, Tuesday, January 31, at Casa del Caribe, located at 13th Street, number 154, corner of 8th Street, Vista Alegre neighborhood, Santiago de Cuba.  (Source: ACN)