Salomé Ureña
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Salomé Ureña Díaz de Henríquez (October 21, 1850 - March 6, 1897) was a Dominican
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
and
teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
, being one of the central figures of 19th-century
lyrical poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...
and advocator for women’s education in the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
, influenced by the positivist schools and the normal education of
Eugenio María de Hostos Eugenio María de Hostos (January 11, 1839 – August 11, 1903), known as "''El Gran Ciudadano de las Américas''" ("The Great Citizen of the Americas"), was a Puerto Rican educator, philosopher, intellectual, lawyer, sociologist, novelist, an ...
, of whom she was an advantaged student. Her works focused on
patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...
and family environment. Although not very extensive, she managed to attract the attention of much of
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
due to the depth of her works. Among his most notable works are: ''Offering to the Homeland'', ''The bird and the nest'' and ''Shadows'', ''To my mother'', among others.


Life

She was born in
Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...
, Dominican Republic on October 21, 1850. She was the daughter of writer Nicolás Ureña de Mendozaand Gregoria Díaz de León both from Santo Domingo, their marriage union lasted five years. Her father was a politician and journalist who held positions in the judiciary and congress. Despite the separation of her parents, the relationship of Salomé with her father was endearing and undoubtedly fundamental in her intellectual and moral formation. Salomé learned to read with her mother and at the age of four, which reveals the care of both parents, who gave a solid training to Salomé. She attended the elementary schools of her time, while her studies as a teenager was done under the guidance of her father, from whom she received extensive literary instruction. Salomé learned the verses of her father's favorite bards, her cultural level was nourished by Spanish classics as well English and French literature. She began writing verses at the age of fifteen, later publishing her first works at the age of seventeen, with a characteristic imprint of spontaneity and tenderness. In 1867 she published her first works under the pseudonym "Herminia", a name she used until 1874. On February 11, 1880, at the age of twenty-nine, she married the doctor and writer Francisco Henríquez y Carvajal, a politician who achieved the presidency of the Dominican Republic. She had four children with him: Francisco,
Pedro Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, mean ...
, Max and Camila. Her children’s would later become highly respected figures of contemporary literature of the mid- and late twentieth century as writers, philosophers, poets, humanists and art critics.


Contribution to education

Around 1881, Salomé with the help of her husband opened one of the first centers of higher education for young women in the Dominican Republic, which she named "Instituto de Señoritas". Within five years, the first six female teachers had graduated from the Institute, something uncommon at the time. The first graduating class included
Mercedes Laura Aguiar Mercedes Laura Aguiar (16 February 1872 – 1 January 1958) was an educator and feminist from the Dominican Republic. As a journalist and poet, she wrote works to promote equality of men and women and Dominican sovereignty, writing in opposition ...
, Leonor M. Feltz, Altagracia Henríquez Perdomo, Luisa Ozema Pellerano, Catalina Pou, and Ana Josefa Puello.


Legacy

In 1874, at the age of 23, Salomé participated in the publication of an anthology of contemporary poets. "La Lira de Quisqueya", a work that was circulated about the first anniversary of the overthrow of the despotic government of
Buenaventura Báez Ramón Buenaventura Báez Méndez (July 14, 1812March 14, 1884), was a Dominican politician and military figure. He was president of the Dominican Republic for five nonconsecutive terms. His rule was characterized by being very corrupt and govern ...
and in which seven poems by Salomé were included: ''The Glory of Progress'', ''Remembrance of a Proscript, Melancholy, Answer, My Homeland, Gratitude, and A Hymn.'' In the investitures held between 1887 and 1893, she assumes more defined positions on political level, questions the despotism of the
Ulises Heureaux Ulises Hilarión Heureaux Leibert (; October 21, 1845 – July 26, 1899) nicknamed Lilís, was president of the Dominican Republic from September 1, 1882 to September 1, 1884, from January 6, 1887 to February 27, 1889 and again from April 30, 18 ...
regime, religious intolerance and authoritarianism; she echoes the voices that denounce the intransigence of some of the sectors. With the passage of time, her work became tragic and sad with poems such as ''In hours of anguish''; or patriotic and energetic as can be seen in her poems ''A la Patria'' y ''Ruinas''. In later years, she included autobiographical themes in her poems, as can be seen in ''Mi Pedro'', dedicated to her son, perhaps her most affectionate poem, in ''The Arrival of Winter'' and a book that became very popular called ''Esteban'', where she talks about her country, her family, plants and flowers.


Death

Ureña died on March 6, 1897, at age 46, due to complications of tuberculosis. Buried in the church of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes and then, in 1972, she was transferred to the Pantheon of the Homeland.


Partial Bibliography

* 1873 - The glory of progress * 1876 - Ruins * 1877 - The arrival of winter * 1878 - Faith in the future * 1880 - Anacaona * 1880 - Poetry of Salomé Ureña de Henríquez * 1881 - Shadows * 1897 - My Pedro * 1902 - Herminia


Ancestry


Note


References

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External links


Salomé Ureña Fan page




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Poems







{{DEFAULTSORT:Urena, Salome 1850 births 1897 deaths People from Santo Domingo Dominican Republic people of Canarian descent Dominican Republic people of French descent Dominican Republic people of Spanish descent Dominican Republic women writers Dominican Republic women poets 19th-century Dominican Republic poets 19th-century women writers