Fayad Jamís (1930–1988) was a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n poet, painter, designer, journalist and translator.Bio
/ref> He was born in

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

to a Lebanese-Cuban father and a Mexican mother. Moving to Cuba at the age of six, Jamis trained at the San Alexandro Academy before gaining renown as an abstract painter. He was a member of the

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

group of Cuban painters known as " Las Once" ("The Eleven"). Jamís lived in Paris in the 1950s, and attended the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. The surrealist writer Andre Breton was a supporter of his work, and he co-exhibited with the sculptor Agustin Cardenas. Jamis returned to Cuba in 1959 and became involved in a wide range of activities including teaching, painting, and writing. He served as

cultural attache Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these grou ...

in the Cuban embassy in Mexico for over a decade. Jamis received the

Casa de las Américas Casa de las Américas is an organization that was founded by the Cuban Government in April 1959, four months after the Cuban Revolution, for the purpose of developing and extending the socio-cultural relations with the countries of Latin America, ...

prize for his book ''Por Esta Libertad'' (''For This Liberty''). His paintings can be seen in collections in Cuba and abroad. He often used pseudonyms such as Fernando Moro, Onirio Estrada or the initials F.J.N. Jamis died in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

in 1988. A bookshop is named after him in Calle Obispo in Havana Vieja.

References

External Links

Fayad Jamis Collection
at the Amherst College Archives & Special Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Jamis, Fayad 1930 births 1988 deaths Cuban painters 20th-century Cuban poets Cuban male poets People from Havana Artists from Zacatecas Writers from Zacatecas Mexican people of Cuban descent Cuban people of Mexican descent Mexican people of Lebanese descent Cuban people of Lebanese descent 20th-century Mexican male writers Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro alumni