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Silvana Verónica Garriga Caballero, National Editing Award 2010, passed away this Friday in Havana at the age of 71, as announced by the Cuban Institute of Books (ICL).
A graduate in Spanish Language and Literature from the University of Havana, Garriga Caballero dedicated over four decades to the editing, research, and promotion of Cuban literature, becoming one of the most prominent figures in the contemporary publishing scene on the island.
His professional career was connected to two fundamental institutions in the sector: the Editorial Letras Cubanas, where he worked from 1979 to the year 2000, and later the publishing house Ediciones Boloña, which belongs to the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, where she served as the chief editor.
The ICL highlighted that from those spaces it contributed "to the publication of titles with high thematic and technical complexity, and trained several generations of editors."
As a publisher, they showcase works by essential authors for Cuban culture, including Zoila Lapique, Eusebio Leal, Rigoberto Menéndez, Leonardo Acosta, and René Vázquez.
Many of the titles he published received awards such as the Critics' Award, the Cuban Academy of Language Award, and the Catauro.
The National Editing Award, the highest recognition in the Cuban publishing sector awarded by the ICL, was granted to him in 2010 for his body of work and his contribution to the development of publishing in Cuba.
The passing of Garriga Caballero adds to a series of recent losses of prominent Cuban cultural figures. Last March, Cuban intellectual Pedro Juan de la Portilla passed away, and in 2022, ethnologist Rogelio Martínez Furé, also a National Prize winner, died.
The Ministry of Culture of Cuba extended "sincere condolences to the family, students, and friends of the prominent Cuban editor."
According to the ICL, Garriga Caballero "dedicated his life to the editing, research, and promotion of Cuban literature, establishing himself as one of the prominent figures in the contemporary publishing scene in the country." This assessment encapsulates the significance of a career that left a profound mark on generations of editors and on the literary heritage of the island.
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