Biography

An activist in favor of Puerto Rico's independence, Reyes was one of that island's top poets and a literary legend. Born in the town of Ciales, Reyes became involved in the independence movement as a teen, after witnessing the grave injustices the new U.S. territorial government were doing in the name of progress. As an editor/columnist of "Claridad," the newspaper produced by the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), Reyes provided his viewpoints on the colonialism of his country. As an author of several books of poetry, Reyes was seen as one of the top poets in the island's history, ranking with local natives Julia de Burgos and Luis Lloren Torres in his gravitude and style. His only film role was in the Puerto Rican film. "Linda Sara" produced and directed by fellow "independista" Jacobo Morales. He died on January 10, 2001 in his beloved Puerto Rico after a lengthy illness.
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Edwin Reyes was born on July 3, 1944 in the Pozas borough of Ciales and died in San Juan, Puerto on January 9, 2001. He worked as a poet, columnist, journalist, screenwriter, filmmaker, political activist and ad man.

He studied at the University of Puerto Rico but he considered himself to be self taught. He was a member of the 60s poetry group Guajana since its beginnings at the UPR. He was also an active member of the Pro Independence Movement (MPI), later called the Puerto Rican Socialist Party (PSP). He published columns in El Reportero, Puerto Rico ilustrado and the cultural supplement of El Mundo. As cultural affairs director of the PSP, he co-founded En Rojo, the cultural section of the party's weekly, Claridad, with Uruguayan intellectual Angel Rama. As a founding member of the Committee for the Defense of the Puerto Rican Culture, he authored the lyrics and music to "El gobierno Arana", a song used during the electoral campaigns in 1980 and 1984 that repudiated the acts of murder and corruption committed during Carlos Romero Barcelo's terms as governor for the New Progressive Party (PNP - pro statehood). Reyes published four books: Cronica del vertigo (1977); Son cimarron para Adolfina Villanueva (1985); Balada del hombre huerfano (1990) and El arpa imaginaria (1998). He worked in cultural affairs for the Municipality of Caguas and San Juan in Puerto Rico; he wrote and produced the record "Aguinaldo Mayor" for the latter. During the last decade of his life, he immersed himself into cinema, and made five documentaries: 'Pales: resena de una vida util'; 'Tufino: una vida para el arte y un arte para la vida'; 'Rafael Hernandez: jibarito del mundo'; 'Adombe: la presencia africana en Puerto Rico' (Gold Medal, Festival Unico, UNESCO, Cordoba, Argentina) and 'Teatro Tapia: prodigio de un espacio venerable'. In 1999 he wrote, produced and directed a TV movie titled 'Punto final: de como Tito Mangual aprendio a bregar', with students from the School to Work program of the Municipality of Caguas. He also appeared in small roles in Jacobo Morales' feature film 'Linda Sara' and Ivonne Belen's documentary, 'Una pasion llamada Clara Lair'. Reyes died on January 9, 2001, a little over three months after he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He left some unfinished projects, including a novel, 'El arpa en la creciente' and a book of poetry, 'El arca de papel', besides some unpublished stories and songs.

Some stories and poems have been published posthumously in 'Flor de lumbre' (2004) an anthology of Guajana's poetry and 'Relatos en espigas' (2007), a compilation of Guajana's poets' short stories.

He is survived by his daughters Huarali, Elio and Paloma Reyes Aviles, Monica Reyes Llenza and Marina Reyes Franco.
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