Oscar Hijuelos, Cuban-American Writer Who Won Pulitzer, Dies at 62 By NewsAmericas - October 13, 2013 Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Linkedin ReddIt Email Print Mr. Hijuelos’s 1989 book, “The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love,” was his best-known work. His characters faced the conundrums of assimilation while holding on to an ethnic and national identity.