José Antonio Fernández de Castro

Who was José Antonio Fernández de Castro?

José Antonio Fernández de Castro was a notable Cuban journalist and writer active in the first part of the 20th century.

In 1917 he graduated with a law degree from the University of Havana. Long interested in journalism and historical investigation, he worked with the newspapers El Fígaro y La Nación. He directed the literary page of Diario de la Marina from, using it as a platform to support the contemporary Spanish avant-garde literary movements, often called the vanguardia. He collaborated on a number of anti-imperialist publications such as Venezuela Libre and América Libre, and was later became involved in Communist activities. He was, for example, one of the first Cuban writers to study the poetry of the October Revolution. He served as a diplomat between 1934 and 1944. He died on July 30, 1951 in his native Havana.

His most important works include a compilation of the letters of José Antonio Saco, published under the title Medio siglo de historia colonial de Cuba. In addition, he published the anthology La poesía moderna en Cuba and a collection of his best journalism En Barraca de feria.