[Curiosities] José María Heredia, the first poet of America

[Noticias ALEJANDRO]

José María Heredia was born on December 31, 1803 in Santiago de Cuba. The family, and especially his father, stimulated his interest in studies, the basis of his erudition and his sensitivity. He graduated as a lawyer, but literature and journalism attracted him deeply.

 

 

The young man does not escape the political upheaval of his time, marked by the independence awakening. In 1823 he was denounced for conspiring against Spanish domination, since he belonged to a branch of the Soles y Rayos de Bolívar. They try to arrest him and he manages to escape.

The physical distance that separates him from Cuba marks him indelibly. Despite exile, he grows as a creator, jurist and diplomat. Tuberculosis extinguished his existence in Mexico on May 7, 1839.

 

 

Niagara Singer
It is estimated that his first poems date back to his time in Caracas, Venezuela, between 1816 and 1817, which he later collected in two notebooks. Years later, the first edition of his poetic compositions was published.

Among them, En el teocalli de Cholula and To the star of Venus stand out. His ode to Niagara is famous, which gave him worldwide notoriety, and in it we see the bard enchanted by the landscape and nostalgic for the palms, symbols of the beloved and distant homeland.

Volcanic and serene spirit
His poem The Star of Cuba marked the advent of poetry in the service of independence. The pain caused by the exile and the intensity of his love for Cuba were reflected in his Hymn of the Exile.

For researcher Rafael Esténger, “his definitive verses have not remained only as literary forms (...) They have done more: capture our most endearing symbols by establishing the star and the palm as emblems of the nationality.”

 

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