Gil Cuadros
Gil Cuadros was a Chicano writer born in 1962 to Mexican parents, who made significant contributions to literature, particularly within the context of the Latino community and the AIDS crisis. He experienced a challenging upbringing in a working-class family, which heavily influenced his writing. Cuadros is best known for his 1994 book, "City of God," a poignant blend of fiction and poetry that addresses themes of coming-of-age, sexual identity, and the realities of living with AIDS in Los Angeles during the late 20th century. The work reflects the complexities of gay life and personal struggles during the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George Bush.
Despite receiving a terminal diagnosis in the late 1980s, Cuadros continued to write, emphasizing the power of storytelling as a means of survival. "City of God" was published shortly before his death at the age of thirty-four, and although it was his only published book, Cuadros's writing appeared in various anthologies. Recognized for his talent, he was awarded the Brody Literature Fellowship in 1991 and became one of the first writers with AIDS to receive a grant from PEN Center USA/West. Cuadros's work remains a vital part of the conversation surrounding LGBTQ+ literature and the experiences of marginalized communities.
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Gil Cuadros
- Born: 1962
- Died: 1996
Biography
Shortly after the death of his partner in the late 1980’s, Chicano writer Gil Cuadros told Terry Wolverton, his teacher in a writing workshop for people with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), that his writing was keeping him alive. After doctors gave him six months to live, he lived another eight years.
Cuadros was born in 1962, the son of Mexican parents. He grew up in a working-class family and drew from his childhood memories and experiences in the Latino community to write City of God (1994). The book is an amalgamation of fiction and poetry that explores coming-of-age, coming out, gay life, and living with AIDS in Los Angeles during the presidential administrations of Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Upon reading the unpublished manuscript of the book, Wolverton was struck by the writer’s talent and connected Cuadros with her literary agent, who saw the book through to its 1994 publication, two years before Cuadros’s death at age thirty-four.
The first half of City of God consists of stories narrated by various characters, while the second half contains Cuadros’s poetry. Though it was the only book Cuadros published, his fiction and poetry appeared in numerous anthologies. Cuadros won the 1991 Brody Literature Fellowship and was one of the first writers with AIDS to receive a grant from the PEN Center USA/West.