Julia de Burgos
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Julia de Burgos (February 17, 1914 – July 6, 1953), born in Carolina, Puerto Rico has been considered by many as the greatest poet to have been born in Puerto Rico and along with Gabriela Mistral, is considered as one of the greatest poets of Latin America. She was also an advocate for the independence of Puerto Rico and a vocal critic of political tyrants such as Rafael Trujillo and Francisco Franco. She was also an ardent civil rights activist for women and African/Afro-Caribbean writers.
Burgos was raised in a poor section of Carolina called Barrio Santa Cruz. Her family's poverty did not keep her from developing a love for nature and her country. She was very fortunate to be able to attend school, since she came from a very large family of thirteen children.
Burgos graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a degree in teaching at the age of nineteen. She became a teacher but her love for literature led her to write poetry. Among her early influences were Luis Llorens Torres, Clara Lair, Rafael Alberti and Pablo Neruda. Her inspiration came from her love of Puerto Rico and as noted in her first work El Rio Grande de Loiza.
In 1934, she married Ruben Rodrigues Beauchamp, and ended her teaching career to dedicate her time to her marriage and her passion for writing. In 1936, she joined the Daughters of Freedom, the women's branch of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party (Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico). This was the independence party headed by Pedro Albizu Campos, a very famous Puerto Rican nationalist. Due to time and constrains her activities had affected her marriage, she and her husband divorced in 1937.
Burgos published three books which contained a collection of her poems. For her first two books, she traveled around the island promoting herself by giving book readings. Her third book was published posthumously in 1954.
Later in life she would be become romantically involved with Dr. Juan Isidro Jimenes Grullón, a Dominican physician who became the love of her life. Many of her poems were inspired by the love that she felt for him. In 1939, Burgos and Jimenes Grullón traveled first to Cuba and then later to New York. Shortly upon their arrival in Cuba, her relationship with Jimenes Grullón began to show tension, and after trying to save her relationship, she instead left and returned once again to New York, however this time alone. While she did eventually remarried this time to Armando Marín, a musician from Vieques in 1943, that marriage would also fail (they divorced in 1947), only lapsing Burgos into further depression and alcholism to alleviate her sadness and loneliness. On June 28, 1953, she left her the Brooklyn home of a relative she was residing with and completely disappeared. With no clue of where she went, it was later discovered that on July 6, 1953 she collapsed on a sidewalk in the Spanish Harlem section of Manhattan, and later died of pneumonia at a hospital in Harlem at the age of 39. Since no one initially claimed her body and the fact that she had no identification on her at time of her death, the city gave her a pauper's burial on Hart Island, the city's only potter's field.
Some of her friends were able to trace and find her grave and claim her body. A committee was organized in Puerto Rico, presided by Dr. Margot Arce de Vázquez, to have her remains transferred to the island. Her remains arrived on September 6, 1953 and funeral services for her were held at the Puerto Rican Atheneum. She was given a hero's burial at the Municipal Cemetery of Carolina. A monument was later built at her burial site by the City of Carolina.
Among Julia de Burgos' important works are: "Rio Grande de Loiza", "Poema para mi Muerte" (My Death Poem), "Yo Misma Fui Mi Ruta" (I Was My Own Path), "Alba de Mi Silencio", "Alta Mar y Gaviota", etc.
On February 19, 1987, the Spanish Department of the University of Puerto Rico posthumously honored Julia de Burgos by granting her a doctorate in Human Letters and Arts. The proclamation was presented to her niece, Maria Consuelo Seaz Burgos. The city of San Juan, Puerto Rico has honored her memory by naming schools and avenues after her. The Casa Protectora Julia de Burgos, a shelter for women seeking shelter from domestic violence and the Julia de Burgos Museum of Arts and Sciences are also located in island's capital. New York City has honored her legacy by opening the Julia de Burgos Latino Center in Manhattan and the Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center in Harlem, close to the spot were she died. The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has honored Julia de Burgos by naming both an elementary and middle school after her. The renowned Puerto Rican sculptor Tomás Batista sculpted a bust of Julia which is in the Julia de Burgos Park in Carolina. A documentary about the life of Julia de Burgos was made in 2002 titled "Julia, toda en mi..." ("Julia, all in me...") directed and produced by Ivonne Belen. Another biopic about her life, "Vida y poesía de Julia de Burgos," was filmed and released in Puerto Rico in 1978.
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[edit] Publications
- Yo misma fui mi ruta, Ediciones Huracán, 1986; ISBN 0-940238-30-6
- Amor y soledad Ediciones Torremozas, 1994; ISBN 84-7839-136-3
- El Mar Y Tu Ediciones Huracan, 1981; ISBN 0-940238-46-2
- Cancion De La Verdad Sencilla (Vortice Ser) Ediciones Huracan, 1982; ISBN 0-940238-66-7
- Poema En Veinte Surcos Ediciones Huracan, 1983; ISBN 0-940238-23-3
[edit] Biographical/Documentary Films
- "Julia...Todo En Mi" on the Internet Movie Database
- "Vida y poesía de Julia de Burgos on the Internet Movie Database
