Who am I, Butterfly?: ¿Quién soy yo, Mariposa? Bilingüe English-Spanish

Writing has always been a burning passion. I won my first award with a poem to the Virgin Mary, when I was in the 6th grade at the American Dominican Academy of Havana, Cuba and determined then to become a writer. In time, I selected to study "Filosofia y Letras" at the University of Havana but came to exile in 1961. When I moved to Venezuela in 1970, I finally had the opportunity to finish my career at Universidad Católica Andres Bello, where I graduated Suma Cum Laude and won the university's poetry awards in 1975 and 1976. In 1979 I was also the recipient of the XII Annual Literary Poetry Award of the Universidad de Carabobo. I continued to develop my craft by participating in workshops with Venezuelan writers Antonia Palacios, Luis Alberto Crespo and Eduardo Liendo. During this period, I published two poetry books: "Peninsula" and "Mundo de Aire". Miami, Florida, became my home in 1980. Here I published my third poetry book, "Campo Raso". I took a different direction in 1995, and decided to write short stories. This effort resulted in a narrative about Afro-Cuban traditions called "Cuenta el Caracol". In 2004, my imagination beckoned me to explore the young adult world with the bilingual fable "Aloni Gabriel y Mariposa/Aloni Gabriel and Butterfly"; this book has already four editions. In 2009 I published "The Philosophy of My Wandering Cat", a book of short fictional prose. They are philosophical fables with an inspirational twist that tell the story of a path to enlightenment. Also in 2009 I published another poetry book, "Temblor de Luz", dedicated to the memory of Cuban poet Dulce María Loynaz; and in 2011 a children's book, "Who am I Butterfly? Flying to Remember", inspired in the Buddhist tradition.