Exile From Cuba
Because of his dissident attitude, he continued to have problems with the Cuban government. Eventually, he was allowed to leave Cuba with his family and settled in Italy as an unpaid cultural representative of Cuba. In 1968, he officially broke with the Cuban government when he signed a letter condemning the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
After his definitive exile, his literary production markedly increased. Franqui penned several major historical accounts of the Cuban Revolution, including, "El Libro de los Doce" (The Book about the Twelve) and "Diario de la Revolución Cubana" (The Diary of the Cuban Revolution). Yet, another facet of his literary opus were a number of poetry and graphic arts collections (for which he collaborated with Joan Miró, Antoni Tàpies, Alexander Calder, and others), several books of poetry, as well as several narrative works on art (some edited in Italian under pen names).
He continued to campaign against repression in Cuba and other countries. He was officially branded as a traitor by the Cuban government, which accused him of CIA ties. Also, many Cuban exiles shunned Franqui because of his active role in the Cuban revolution.
In the early 1990s he moved to Puerto Rico, where he lived in semi-retirement. In 1996, he founded Carta de Cuba, a quarterly journal featuring high-quality work produced in Cuba by independent journalists and writers. Franqui continued to edit the publication until his death, which occurred on April 16, 2010 in Puerto Rico.
Read more about this topic: Carlos Franqui
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