The Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) recalls today the 108th birthday of writer Onelio Jorge Cardoso, considered the greatest storyteller and one of the most prominent Cuban authors.

On Twitter, the Cuban institution recalled Cardoso, who was president of the UNEAC’s literature section and, in turn, invited to rediscover “his Creole and unique work.”

Some of his books are “Taita, diga usted cómo (Taita, Say How),” in 1945; “El cuentero” (The storyteller), in 1958; “El caballo de coral (The Coral Horse),” in 1960; “Cuentos completos (Complete stories), in 1962; La otra muerte del gato (The other death of the cat), in 1964; El hilo y la cuerda (The thread and the rope), in 1974; La cabeza en la almohada (The head on the pillow), in 1983; Negrita, in 1984, and Dos ranas y una flor (Two Frogs and a Flower), in 1987.

With his peculiar and eloquent voice, Cardoso bequeathed to generations of Cubans well-known stories such as the unforgettable Francisca y la muerte (Francisca and death), which is part of the curricula of the national education system.

He also worked as cultural advisor to the Cuban embassy in Peru in the mid-1970s, and on his return to the island he was elected president of the UNEAC literature section, a responsibility he took on until his death, on May 29, 1986.

Publishers from Russia, Hungary, Romania, Poland, France, Mexico, and Cuba, have published collections of his stories, which have been translated into more than 12 languages.

Among his many prizes, he received the status of Doctor Honoris Causa from the Simon Bolivar University, in Bogota (Colombia), and from the University of Havana, as well as a number awards.