Leonardo Padura Brings Cuban Crime Fiction to Tartu

Cuban author Leonardo Padura, best known for his crime novels, will travel from Havana to Tartu to take part in the Prima Vista literary festival. His event will take place on Wednesday, May 7, at 6 PM in the Tartu Public Library (Kompanii 3/5).

Born in 1955, Leonardo Padura is currently the most internationally renowned and widely translated Cuban writer. He is known as an independent intellectual who combines popular appeal with a critical, intellectual perspective on society, infusing his works with existential, philosophical, and historical dimensions. Although he also holds Spanish citizenship and frequently travels the world to present his writing, Padura, unlike many of his contemporaries, has remained loyal to his homeland, making him one of the few prominent writers still living in Cuba. A deep attachment to his native island is one of the hallmarks of his work: his depictions of a Cuba shaped by communist rhetoric and repression, and the decaying allure of Havana, are among the most compelling features of his books.

Padura gained international recognition primarily for his series of novels featuring detective Mario Conde, a character who embodies a disillusioned generation of Cubans. The author has described the series as a kind of chronicle of Cuban life: the ten novels, written over several decades, provide a realistic account of the transformations the country has undergone: from the looming economic crisis following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s to the historic visit of Barack Obama in 2016. The main character also looks back on his youth in the 1960s, a period marked by the communist rhetoric familiar to many Estonian readers.

Padura himself has referred to his novels as “fake crime fiction,” since the murder plots are secondary to the atmosphere and characters: “I’ve made a very conscious decision to use certain techniques of the crime novel in order to write books that are existential, philosophical, historical, and above all social,” he says. In addition to the Conde series, Padura has written about Cuban exile and Ramón Mercader, the assassin of Leon Trotsky, as well as short stories and essays.

Estonian readers know Padura through Maarja Paesalu’s translations, published by Toledo. The first four volumes of the Mario Conde series have been translated into Estonian, all set in the year 1989: Past Perfect (In Estonian: Laitmatu minevik, 2019), Havana Blue (Havanna tuuled, 2021), Masks (Maskiball, 2023), and Autumn Landscape (Sügismaastik, 2024). Together, the four novels form a cycle known as The Four Seasons or The Havana Quartet.

At Prima Vista, Leonardo Padura will be in conversation with Anneli Ramos Põder, an Estonian-Cuban writer and author of the book Cuba in a Single Breath (Kuuba ühes hingetõmbes). The discussion will be held in Spanish with simultaneous interpretation into Estonian. Padura’s books will be available for purchase at the venue. The author’s visit is supported by the Embassy of Spain in Tallinn.

Additional information:
Mari Laan
mari.laan@toledo.ee
Tel: +372 5135693