Alberto Yarini y Ponce de León (1882-1910) was a Cuban racketeer and

pimp Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

during the period of the

Cuban War of Independence The Cuban War of Independence (), fought from 1895 to 1898, was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) and the Little War (1879–1880). The final three months ...

against Spain. Yarini was well known in his time, is Cuba's most famous pimp, and came to symbolize the concept of Cubanidad, the Cuban national identity, to many Cubans, long after his death. Yarini was born into an elite family, once owners of a

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...

sugar plantations, with his father a dentist, and his uncle a medical surgeon, in Havana. He was educated in the United States, spoke fluent English as well as Spanish, and was politically well connected. He became known for importing prostitutes from France, and worked out of San Isidro, a

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

and red light district in Old Havana. He was killed on November 21, 1910, by gunfire from rival French pimp Louis Lotot and his confederates, who had been waiting for him. Lotot was himself killed in return gunfire from Yarini's bodyguard. La Caricatura on the death of Alberto Yarini

La Caricatura on the death of Alberto Yarini

Legacy

Cuban composer Carlos Felipe Hernández wrote the 1960 musical theatre piece ''Réquiem por Yarini'', about Yarini's life. ''Los Dioses Rotos'' (''Fallen Gods''), a 2009 film by Cuban filmmaker

Ernesto Daranas Ernesto Daranas Serrano (born December 7, 1961) is a Cuban filmmaker. Daranas' three feature films have had unprecedented success in Cuba and were submitted to the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Daranas is a Latin Grammy nomine ...

, was based in part on ''Réquiem'', and was a submission by Cuba to the 82nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Yarini is the subject of an upcoming dramatic film, ''The Prince of Old Havana'', by Cuban American writer, actress and director Migdia Chinea-Varela.''The Prince of Old Havana'' website
retrieved August 9, 2014.

References

External links

ALBERTO YARINI
at Find A Grave {{DEFAULTSORT:Yarini, Alberto Cuban criminals Cuban pimps Human trafficking in Cuba 1882 births 1910 deaths Deaths by firearm in Cuba 19th-century Cuban people People murdered in Cuba Cuban murder victims