GonzAlez


main book distributor is the United States so a large

number of books published in the West Indies never

reaches Puerto Rico. I have some of these works because

I have befriended their authors and they have sent them

to me directly.

 As for Haiti, I had the privilege of meeting Rend

Depestre in Cuba. I also have become acquainted with

Haiti through Jean-Claude Bayeaux, and he has lent me

some books about his country. When I visited Haiti

around 1971, it was very difficult to get Haitian books.

When I went in the summer of '86, I could hardly get any.

You have to be aware that this was the time when Haiti's

situation was very unstable. One could hear shots and

see soldiers riding the streets in armored cars.

 There are things in the Caribbean that bring us

together and things that keep us apart. I would say

that what brings us together are the common social and

political problems. Of course, to a great extent our

problems are different, especially among the Spanish-

speaking world. So we have in common the awareness of

having to rescue the oppressed groups, the oppressed

populations of these Caribbean islands. We have to face