Countdown to the release of Perico, The Fabulous Donkey – a dual language book – 5 Days
For the first time in seventy decades, the story of this famous Cuban donkey will be available in print outside of Cuba.
Perico was a donkey who lived in Santa Clara, Cuba, between 1914 and 1947. He walked freely through his hometown neighborhoods, his safe and gigantic stable. In the 1940s, he became famous at home and abroad when his antics were told and retold. He was featured in The New York Times, Life, and The Evening Post. And in Cuba, La Bohemia, El Diario de la Marina, El Mundo, El País, El Crisol, Prensa Libre, and Habana Post.
he memory of Perico began to disappear en el Olvido – in forgetfulness, a place where old things are held in stasis. Stories similar to Perico’s vanished from the collective memories of Cubans in America as families dealt with the imminent needs of coping in exile.
In Cuba, Perico was not forgotten by one man, Arnaldo Artiles Quintana. He collected stories about Perico, wrote a book, and sculpted a statue of the folkloric icon.
After sixty years, I had the opportunity to visit family in Cuba where Arnaldo introduced me to Perico’s life story. I fell in love with Perico and felt a social responsibility to adopt the project and bring his story to readers outside the island.
In America, we can all claim Perico as our own and keep his life story alive many generations to come.