Valdés Ramos = V. R. = Verre

Surrealist poet and plastic artist Cuban-American (Havana, Cuba; 1946). He is also a literary investigator.       

Valdes Ramos has a Bachelor's Degree in Hispanic Language and Literature from the University of Havana (1977), and began plastic studies of arts in the reknown school “San Alejandro” (La Habana, 1967). He was a literary investigation auxiliar in the Institute of Literature and Linguistic of the Cuban Academy of Sciences (1971-1975), programs advisor in several radio broadcasting stations of the Cuban capital city (1977-1978 and 1979-1988) and director of Radio Ciudad de La Habana (Havana City Radio) (1977-1978). Very closely related to the literary group The Bearded Cayman [El Caiman Barbudo], whose pages welcomed his first poems (1966). His poems was included by Raul Rivero in the anthology Beginning Point [Punto de Partida] (Havana, 1970). Other of his texts were published in the Havanan magazine Women [Mujeres] (1987).    

His interest to Surrealism was born almost at the same moment he was forced to leave his High School studies (he had a strong vocation to biochemistry) because of the mandatory call-up for military service (1964). At a later time, he wrote to his compatriot, painter Jorge Camacho, who was living in Paris, with the secret intention to integrate himself to the active Surrealism; however, Camacho’s news that the Parisian group had disappeared after the death of André Bretón (1966) was something that deeply disappointed him. From then, he decided to live inwards, in the most absolute and painful silence.

Valdés Ramos is the author of several inedit poetry books, those which include: Suckling Baby to Stammer [Lactante balbucir] (1966), The Common Language [El lenguaje común] (Phonetic poetry, 1967), Personal Bambún [Bambún personal] (Dada poems, 1967), Hic Bibitur Or Pure Like a Boy [Hic Bibitur ó Puro como un niño] (1969), Exile Here [Exilio aquí] (1984), and Comfortable Gong [Gong confortable] (Poecollages, 1988): none of these titles were signed and perhaps they were lost when he was exiled to the United States (1989).     

As a plastic artist, Valdés Ramos has participated in collective exhibitions in La Habana (Cuba), Miami (USA), and Santiago de Chile (Chile). He is also the author of the surrealistic play: The ID Card and The Scrubber   [El carnet y los estropajos] (198...). He is working on the poetry collections Spirit of Contradiction [Espíritu de contradicción]; and Living His Death [Vivir su muerte] (2005 -2006).

Several of his works are in private collections in Cuba, USA, Brazil and Chile.

His texts can be found at Banda Hispánica [Poems], Sonámbula.com; and in his web site Surrealist Industry [Industria Surrealista] (coming soon).   

He lives in Miami, Florida.

E-mail: JoirreJoirre@aol.com