Alberto Yarini y Ponce de León (5 February 1882 – 21 November 1910) was a Cuban racketeer and

pimp Procuring, pimping, 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" ...

during the period of the

Cuban War of Independence The Cuban War of Independence (), also known in Cuba as the Necessary War (), 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 Litt ...

against Spain. Yarini was born into an elite family, once owners of a

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...

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 delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

and

red light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are partic ...

Old Havana Old Havana () is the city-center (downtown) and one of the 15 municipalities (or boroughs) forming Havana, Cuba. It has the second highest population density in the city and contains the core of the original city of Havana. The positions of the ...

. 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 Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States after Mexican Americans, Stateside ...

writer, actress and director Migdia Chinea-Varela. In his recent novel ''Decent people'' (''Personas decentes'', Tusquets, 2023), award-winning Cuban writer Leonardo Padura continues his exploration of little-known episodes in 20th-century Cuban history by devoting a leading role to Alberto Yarini within a wider plot involving contemporary history of the island and featuring his detective Mario Conde.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yarini, Alberto Cuban criminals Cuban pimps Human trafficking in Cuba 1882 births 1910 deaths Deaths by firearm in Cuba 19th-century Cuban businesspeople People murdered in Cuba Cuban murder victims