Celestino antes del alba

“I believe the most fertile period of my creative life was my childhood. Although there were always many people in the house, to fill that profound loneliness I felt amidst the noise, I populated that whole world with almost mythical and supernatural characters and apparitions.” These words of Reinaldo Arenas, written elsewhere, tell us that Celestino, the boy in this story, is none other than his kindred spirit. For Celestino, his house is also a devilish swarm; neither his mother nor his grandparents understand why he never stops writing everywhere, even on the leaves of the trees; they also shout at him and threaten him while they harass each other. It is no coincidence that when the narrator looks into the well of the house, he sees Celestino reflected there; nor is it surprising that Celestino, like the narrator, populates his world with phantasmagorical spirits, extraordinary beings and events that also inhabit his writings, a refuge from his unbearable and impoverished reality.