Thursday, 01 September 2011 15:32
Gregorio Fuentes
Perhaps this name suggests nothing, but if I say that it´s about Antonio´s authentic sea lion, from the novel Islands in the Stream, the faithful friend and constant companion of Ernest Hemingway´s adventures, about Captain Grigorine, as the Hemingway called him, you would surely have an idea of what I was talking about.
Although Gregorio Fuentes was born in 1897 in Lanzarote⎯the Canary Islands⎯due to his merits, it only seems right that he appears on the list of the 100 most outstanding Cubans of the twentieth century, having arrived to Cuba in 1907 and never leaving. Hemingway and Fuentes crossed paths for the first time in the Golf of Mexico in 1931, the writer´s boat badly damaged in adverse weather conditions and Fuentes rescuing and towing him in, a gesture that united the seamen forever. Years later, they reunited at a café bar in the Havana village, Casablanca, where the northern author wrote For whom the Bell Tolls. That meeting was the start of many visits. With the same humble origins, similar ages (Hemingway was a year younger) and a passion for adventure, these two men found a lot in common. Hemingway said that Fuentes as a friend, was the "pillar of Pilar," as he was not only in charge of navigating and caring for the yacht, but also managed the kitchen was was responsible for the key area, the "ethyl department."
Best known as a grand fisherman and an author, Hemingway acknowledged that he was able to achieve those things thanks to Fuentes´ knowledge and skills, who was in charge of the helm and the governed the boat to find the blue marlins and swordfish.
Together, with "Pilar" (the boat´s name) equipped and armed, they searched and hunted for Nazi submarines for two years, which were aggressively operating near the Cuban coast during the WWII. Fuentes´ love for "Pilar" was so much, that he lived and slept on that boat in the Cojímar harbor, taking care of it with love and devotion. "Papa Hemingway" deeply loved and cared for Fuentes, so much so that in his will he bequeathed Fuentes his yacht, recognizing that no one could care for and protect this beloved heritage like Fuentes could. Thanks to Fuentes, the historic vessel now lies protected in Finca Vigía, the beautiful Havana property of this American nobel.
Gregorio Fuentes received many awards, but among them is the especially prized "Captain," given by the International Game Fish Association. Fuentes, a double islander, Canary and Cuban, dedicated his life to the sea and much of it to Hemingway; together, they shared a singular love for the Big Blue River, the village of Cojímar, Cuba and those born on this Gulf island.
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