The Cuba-born Antonio Orlando Rodriguez is one of the leading authors of contemporary Latin American fiction. Rodríguez born in Ciego de Avila, Cuba, in 1956. He's written many books for children and teenagers, in addition to the short story books "Striptease" (1985) and "Querido" Drácula (1989), the play "El León y la Domadora (1998) and the novel "Aprendices de brujo" (The Last Masquerade, 2002). He studied journalism in the Universidad de La Habana, Cuba. He has lived in Costa Rica, Colombia, and, as of 1999, in the United States.