Hache Carillo

The best-selling author of Loosing My Espanish (2005), Hache Carillo told Cuban-American stories as an immigrant whose family fled Fidel Castro regime in the 1960s. But in 2020, when he passed suddenly from complications caused by COVID-19, his family was contacted by the press to make a statement.

Hache’s family soon shared that “Hache Carillo” was born “Herman Carol.” He had not immigrated from Cuba. And in fact, he wasn’t even of Cuban descent. As his students at George Washington University and other publishing industry insiders mourned his death, they now also faced a troubling question:

Why did Hache lie?

Hache’s story raises important questions about the performance of cultural identity, art and artifice, and the lies writers tell to make their stories more interesting.

This episode is part of Missing Pages, Season 2 — a podcast series centered on publishing industry shifts, related controversies, and the literary grifters involved.

Listen here.