Daniel Chavarria

The recorded working language is Spanish. Works named in the authority record are Malavana. Work by Daniel Chavarria is recorded in the collections of Harvard Film Archive. Distinctions recorded are Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original, Premio Hammett and Flaiano Literary Prize.

• Name — Daniel Chavarría • Born — 23 November 1933 • Birthplace — San José de Mayo • Died — 6 April 2018 • Place of death — Havana, Cuba • Occupation — Writer, Translator • Language — Spanish

Daniel Chavarría was born in San José de Mayo, Uruguay. In 1964, while Chavarría was living in Brazil, there was a military coup and he fled to work amongst the gold seekers in the Amazon. Later on, he fled to Cuba. There he began working as a Latin and Greek translator and teacher. Subsequently he began his career as a writer. Daniel Chavarría defined himself as a Uruguayan citizen and a Cuban writer. Chavarría’s style of writing is within the Latin American tradition of political writers, such as Gabriel García Márquez. He mentioned that as a child, he read Jules Verne, Emilio Salgari and Alexandre Dumas, and their influence can be detected in his writing. For example, in Tango for a Torturer, the influence of The Count of Monte Cristo is clear. Chavarría’s life and writings clearly show his communist and revolutionary background. He was a well known supporter of the Cuban Revolution. In 2010, Chavarría won Cuba's National Prize for Literature. Chavarría died in Havana on 6 April 2018, aged 84.