Romualdo Alonso Pino, known in the world of improvisational poetry as "El Pino de Cangrejera," passed away on October 11 in the town of La Salud, in the municipality of Quivicán, Mayabeque province, while participating in a canturía.
The page D'Canturía on Facebook, dedicated to the décima and improvised Cuban verse, announced the passing on that very day, and several profiles related to the national verse of the island echoed this sad news this week.
"D'Canturía regrets to inform of the sudden passing of Romualdo Alonso Pino, 'El Pino de Cangrejera'," read the brief note, extending condolences to family and friends, "particularly to Mercy Estrada, his partner in art and in life. Rest in peace, poet."
According to the latest images of the poet, taken by Yelier Corvo Rodríguez, Alonso Pino was improvising alongside the repentista Yasel García in La Salud just a few minutes before his death.
A netizen who commented on D'Canturía's post revealed the cause of death: "It was during a canturía where he received a lot of applause, and that's when he had the heart attack... eternal glory, my brother."
Born on September 8, 1947 —according to another publication by D'Canturía— Alonso Pino was "one of the most media-savvy improvisers" in Cuba during his peak.
Her artistic journey —noted the newspaper El Artemiseño— was marked by two significant controversial partnerships: first with José Miguel Bello, and later with Helio Vidal, with whom she formed one of the most beloved duos on the Sunday television program "Palmas y Cañas," an emblematic space of Cuban improvisation that has been airing since 1962.
Several followers who remembered him from that show shared their testimonials. One internet user wrote: “I remember the poet Alonso Pino on the Palmas y Cañas programs, alongside my great friend, Helio Vidal, a duo of poets, very professional, and whenever they appeared on the show, there was always quality.”
Another one added: "He formed a charming duo with Elio. We worked together a lot in Palmas y Cañas. My deepest condolences to family and friends; especially to his wife and friend: the stellar singer Mercy Estrada."
The National Association of Small Farmers also joined in mourning. "May the family and friends receive the deepest condolences from the National Bureau of ANAP and the Cuban peasantry," expressed Juan Enrique López Rodríguez on behalf of that organization.
The researcher and National Literature Prize winner Virgilio López Lemus, one of the authorities in Latin America on the study of the décima, was another who reacted to the news: "I deeply regret his passing," he wrote succinctly, with the seriousness that corresponds to the loss of such an important figure.
In tribute to the poet, Juan Carlos García Guridi composed an acrostic published by D'Canturía: “Alonso Pino died, / He did so as he wished; / He dreamed in octosyllables, / He never forgot that... / He fulfilled his destiny / Proudly faithful; / He painted his goodbye without a brush, / Hoisted flags of light: / He wanted no tears nor cross / Rusting his skin.”
The user Raisel Acosta Aquino announced on Facebook that a posthumous tribute to "El Pino de Cangrejera" will be held with a guateque at the Obelisco Décima Cubana in Güira de Melena, with free entry for all poets and poetry lovers: "We will soon announce the date of the Guateque," he wrote.
The death of Alonso Pino adds to the losses of other figures in the Cuban rural music scene, such as the announcer Fernando Guardado, at the end of September. Guardado was the star host of "Palmas y Cañas" for nearly four decades.
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