Photo: RRSS
Text: Cuba News 360 Newsroom
Raúl Castillo, the well-known and beloved Cuban fashion designer, passed away today, July 11, in Havana.
As confirmed by some close friends, Castillo died in the early hours of this morning and suffered from chronic diabetes for several years as a result of which both legs had been amputated.
One of the messages on Facebook was published by his cousin, Mauricio Yemaya: “I inform my friends that I have received the most unpleasant news in the world. This morning they told me from my family in Cuba that my cousin Raúl Castillo, the designer, has just passed away. The sadness and the little desire to live looking at himself as he was took him to the grave, but may my cousin Raulito rest in peace.
The Havana Dance Center also published a message of condolences on this social network for Castillo’s death: “Today we mourn the death of Cuban designer Raúl Castillo. To his family, friends and supporters our deepest condolences.”
The artist enjoyed great popularity among Cubans for a long time, especially due to his presence on many Cuban Television programs in which he promoted his fashion collections.
Regarding his illness, last year a campaign was carried out on social networks to request help for the designer, who was in very difficult living conditions and without receiving any help from the island government.
It was the Cuban broadcaster Rolando Zaldívar who promoted the initiative on his Facebook wall through a photograph of Castillo along with the request for help.
Many Cubans will remember the nice designer, always with a wide smile,
promoting outfits that for many were not up to the personalities that the artist expected them to wear.
“His effort was more a showcase of the impossible than anything else,” assures the non-state media Cubacute. However, his sympathy captured the attention of many.
Raúl Castillo began his work in 1981 at the Havana Youth Clothing Company, and two years later, at just 24 years old, he created his Avances fashion group.
According to Cubacute, the idea of his group was “to express and promote the concerns of fashion in Cuban youth.”