Alberto Yarini y Ponce de León (5 February 1882 – 21 November 1910) was a Cuban racketeer and pimp during the period of the Cuban War of Independence against Spain.
Yarini was born into an elite family, once owners of a Matanzas 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 and red light district in Old Havana. 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."Para Subsistir Dignamenta: Alberto Yarini and the Search for Cubanidad, 1882-1910". Mayra Beers, PhD thesis, Florida International University, February 17, 2011.
Legacy Cuban composer Carlos Felipe Hernández wrote the 1960 musical theatre piece Réquiem por Yarini, about Yarini's life.Réquiem por Yarini ; retrieved August 9, 2014.Película cubana completa: Los Dioses Rotos December 21, 2013; retrieved August 9, 2014. Los Dioses Rotos (Fallen Gods), a 2009 film by Cuban filmmaker Ernesto Daranas, was based in part on Réquiem, and was a submission by Cuba to the 82nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.Victoria Alcalá, 20 of the best Cuban films, 2006-2011 Cuba Absolutely website]; retrieved August 9, 2014.
Yarini is the subject of an upcoming dramatic film, The Prince of Old Havana, by Cuban American writer, actress and director Migdia Chinea-Varela.The Prince of Old Havana website ; retrieved August 9, 2014.
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