Jorge Armando Pérez
Jorge Armando Pérez is a Cuban humanitarian, author, and evangelist. He has written more than 20 books under the pseudonym of Jorge Armando Pérez Venâncio, taking the second last name of Venâncio, in honor of his grandfather, Francisco Venâncio. Early life. J.A. Pérez was born in a small village named El Gabriel, in the province of Havana, Cuba. He has two younger brothers. His father, Armando Pérez Martín, is a radiologist; his mother, Teresita Juana María Hernandez, is an English teacher and controller for an American tobacco company. His twin younger brothers suffered from health problems as  children, requiring frequent hospitalizations. Consequently, Pérez spent most of his childhood years under the care of his maternal grandparents, Francisco Venâncio Hernandez and Hilda Alfonso. Early influences. Pérez was influenced greatly by his grandfather Francisco, who was known in El Gabriel as "Pancho el Largo" (meaning "Tall Frank" in English). Francisco was a tall man, born and raised by monks in a monastery in the Canary Islands. When Pérez was young, his grandfather would read him short stories and passages from an old Nacar Colunga Bible. By the time Pérez was five years old, he knew all of Aesop's  Fables by heart. Humanitarian work. Pérez runs an organization which brings humanitarian campaigns to countries in Latin America. His team includes medical professionals, family counselors, and volunteers. The organization recently held a Humanitarian Festival in Costa Rica called the "Republic of Joy", with over 18,000 people in attendance. Teams of doctors and dentists worked during the day at the Rafael Ángel Camacho Cordero Stadium, providing care to low-income families. Mass events. Pérez also organizes festivals which are held at stadiums or plazas. During the day, ongoing educational workshops are offered. Arts, theater, and music productions are held, with a  concert every night. At every festival, Pérez speaks to the audience. Other mass events were held in 2014 in Corail, Beaumont, and Roseaux in Haiti. There, Pérez collaborated with the Luis Palau Association to hold a city-wide concert by the Reggae group Christafari.