Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Thomas Graham

‘He was mocking his captors’: a poet’s confession and the Cuban revolution

Heberto Padilla. A still from The Padilla Affair, a documentary from the Cuban film-maker Pavel Giroud.
Heberto Padilla. A still from The Padilla Affair, a documentary from the Cuban film-maker Pavel Giroud. Photograph: Pavel Giroud

By the end of his marathon self-criticism, Heberto Padilla was drenched in sweat.

The Cuban poet, imprisoned for criticising his country’s government a month earlier, had just declared himself, his colleagues and his wife to be counterrevolutionaries. Those very people were sitting in the audience, and seemed unsure what to make of Padilla’s manic performance.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.