Julia Constanza Burgos García (February 17, 1914 – July 6, 1953), known as Julia de Burgos, was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist, Puerto Rican independence advocate, and teacher. As an advocate of

Puerto Rican independence Throughout the history of Puerto Rico, its inhabitants have initiated several movements to gain independence for the island, first from the Spanish Empire until 1898 and since then from the United States. Today, the movement is most commonly r ...

, she served as Secretary General of the Daughters of Freedom, the women's branch of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. She was also a

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

for women and African and

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean or African Caribbean people are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern Afro-Caribbean people descend from the Indigenous peoples of Africa, Africans (primarily fr ...

writers.

Early years

Julia de Burgos was born Julia Constanza Burgos García to Francisco Burgos Hans, a farmer, and Paula García de Burgos. Her father was a member of the

Puerto Rico National Guard The Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG; ) is the national guard of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions, which includes to provide ...

and had a farm near the town of

Carolina, Puerto Rico Carolina (; ) is a Carolina barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico, immediately east of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan and Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Trujillo Alto, n ...

, where she was born. The family later moved to the

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

of Santa Cruz of the same city. She was the oldest of thirteen children. Six of her younger siblings died of malnutrition. After Burgos graduated from Muñoz Rivera Primary School in 1928, her family moved to

Rio Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

, where she was awarded a scholarship to attend University High School. In 1931, she enrolled in University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus to become a teacher. In 1933, at the age of 19, Burgos graduated from the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

with a degree in teaching. She became a teacher and taught at Feijoo Elementary School in Barrio

Cedro Arriba Cedro Arriba is a barrio in the municipality of Naranjito, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 3,876. History Cedro Arriba was in Spain's gazetteers until Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the ...

Naranjito, Puerto Rico Naranjito () is a Naranjito barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central region of the island, south of Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, Toa Alta; north of Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, Barranquitas ...

. She worked as a writer for a children's program under Puerto Rico's Department of Public Instruction on

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

, but was reportedly fired for her political beliefs. Among her early influences were

Luis Lloréns Torres Luis Lloréns Torres (May 14, 1876 – June 16, 1944), was a Puerto Rican poet, playwright, and politician. He was an advocate for the independence of Puerto Rico. Early years Llorens Torres was born in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico. His paren ...

, Mercedes Negrón Muñoz,

Rafael Alberti Rafael Alberti Merello (16 December 1902 – 28 October 1999) was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27. He is considered one of the greatest literary figures of the so-called ''Silver Age'' of Spanish Literature, and he won numer ...

and

Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda ( ; ; born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July 190423 September 1973) was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old an ...

. According to Burgos, "My childhood was all a poem in the river, and a river in the poem of my first dreams." Her first work was ''Río Grande de Loíza''.

Nationalism

In 1934, Burgos married Ruben Rodriguez Beauchamp and ended her teaching career. In 1936, she became a member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party (Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico), led by

Pedro Albizu Campos Pedro Albizu Campos (June 29, 1893Luis Fortuño Janeiro. ''Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963).'' p. 290. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. – April 21, 1965) was a Puerto Rican attorney and politician, and a leading figure in ...

. She was elected to the position of Secretary General of the Daughters of Freedom, the women's branch of the party. She divorced her husband in 1937.

Literature

By the early 1930s, Burgos had published her work in journals and newspapers. At the intersection of her identity as an Afro-Latina woman in a conservative culture, her work discusses feminism, rebellion, love, social justice, identity, resistance, colonialism, and much more. She published two collections of poetry, ''Poema en 20 surcos'' (1938) and ''Canción de la verdad sencilla'' (1939) in her lifetime. Her third collection, ''El mar y tú: otros poemas'' (1954) was edited and published after her death by her sister, Consuelo Burgos. For her first two books, she traveled around the island promoting her work by giving book readings. Her third book was published

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

ly in 1954. Burgos' lyrical poems are a combination of the intimate, the land and the social struggle of the oppressed. Many critics assert that her poetry anticipated the work of

feminist writers Feminist literature is fiction, nonfiction, drama, or poetry, which supports the feminist goals of defining, establishing, and defending equal civil, political, economic, and social rights for women. It often addresses the roles of women in soci ...

and poets as well as that of other Hispanic authors. In one of her poems, she writes: "I am life, strength, woman." Burgos received awards and recognition for her work and was celebrated by poets including

, whom she met in Cuba, and stated that her calling was to be one of the greatest poet of the Americas. Among Burgos' works are: * ''Poema en veinte surcos'' (1938) * ''Canción de la verdad sencilla'' (1939) * ''El mar y tú: otros poemas'' (1954) * * (My Death Poem), * (I Was My Own Path), * (Dawn of My Silence), *

Later years

Later in life, Burgos became romantically involved with Dr. Juan Isidro Jimenes Grullón, a Dominican physician. According to Grullón, many of her poems during that time were inspired by the love that she felt for him. In 1940, Burgos and Jimenes Grullón traveled first to Cuba, where she briefly attended the

University of Havana The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...

, and then later to New York City, where she worked as a journalist for ''Pueblos Hispanos'', a progressive newspaper. Shortly after their arrival in Cuba, Burgos' relationship with Jimenes Grullón became strained. After trying to save her relationship, she instead left and returned once again to New York in 1942, however this time alone, where she took menial jobs to support herself. In 1944, she married Armando Marín, a musician from

Vieques Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island, town and municipality of Puerto Rico, and together with Culebra, it is geographically part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques lies about east of the mainland of Puerto Rico, measuri ...

. In 1947, the marriage also ended in divorce, lapsing Burgos into further depression and

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

. In February 1953, Burgos wrote one of her last poems, "Farewell in Welfare Island." It was written during her last hospitalization and is believed by her peers to be one of the only poems she wrote in English. In the poem she foreshadows her death and reveals an ever darker concept of life.

Death

On June 28, 1953, Burgos left the home of a relative in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, where she had been residing. She disappeared without leaving a clue as to where she went. It was later discovered that in the early morning hours of July 5, 1953, she had collapsed on a sidewalk in the

Spanish Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the east ...

section of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, and she died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

at a hospital in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

shortly after midnight on July 6, 1953, at the age of 39. Since no one claimed her body and she had no identification on her, the city gave her a pauper's burial on Hart Island, the city's only

potter's field A potter's field, paupers' grave or common grave is a place for the burial of unknown, unclaimed or indigent people. "Potter's field" is of Biblical origin, referring to Akeldama (meaning ''field of blood'' in Aramaic), stated to have been pur ...

. Eventually, some of her friends and relatives were able to trace her, find her grave, and claim her body. A committee was organized in Puerto Rico, presided over by Dr. Margot Arce de Vázquez, to have her remains transferred to the island. Burgos's 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.

Honors

In 1986, the Spanish Department of the University of Puerto Rico posthumously honored Burgos by granting her a doctorate in Human Arts and Letters. Cities that have honored Burgos include: * Carolina,

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

** Escuela Julia de Burgos *

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

**Julia De Burgos Cultural Arts Center *

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

** Julia de Burgos Cultural Center''Julia de Burgos Cultural Center''
from ''www.juliadeburgos.org''. ** Julia de Burgos Boulevard (corner of East 106th Street and Lexington Avenue)Junco, Maite
"Poet Julia de Burgos Gets Stamp of Approval."
''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'', September 15, 2010. Retrieved 2023-07-05. ** Julia de Burgos Middle School (M.S. 99) *

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

** Julia de Burgos Elementary School ** Julia de Burgos Magnet Middle School *

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

**Julia de Burgos Park *

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

** Casa Protegida Julia de Burgos (domestic violence shelter) * Willimantic,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

** Julia de Burgos Pocket Park established by Curbstone Press ElParqueJuliaDeBurgos

The Puerto Rican sculptor

Tomás Batista Tomás Batista (born December 7, 1935) is a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican sculptor. He is the creator of some of Puerto Rico's most notable monuments. Early years Batista (birth name: Tomás Batista Encarnación) was born and raised in Luquillo, ...

sculpted a bust of de Burgos in the Julia de Burgos Park in Carolina. Isabel Cuchí Coll published a book about de Burgos titled ''Dos Poetisas de América: Clara Lair y Julia de Burgos''. Puerto Rican poet

Giannina Braschi Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include '' Empire of Dreams'' (1988), '' Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998), '' United States of Banana'' (2011), and '' Putinoika'' (2024). ...

, who was born the year of de Burgos' death, pays homage to her poetry and legend in the

Spanglish Spanglish (a blend of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is mostly u ...

novel '' Yo-Yo Boing!'' At

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, the Latino Cultural Center is named in her honor
La Casa Cultural Julia de Burgos
A documentary about the life of Burgos was made in 2002 titled "''Julia, Toda en mi ... ''" (''Julia, All in me ... '') directed and produced by Ivonne Belén. Another

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

about her life, ''"Vida y poesía de Julia de Burgos,"'' was filmed and released in Puerto Rico in 1978. In

, the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center, on 106th Street and Lexington Avenue, is named after her. Julia de Burgos Santo Domingo

On September 14, 2010, in a ceremony held in

, the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

honored Burgos' life and literary work with the issuance of a first class

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

, the 26th release in the postal system's ''Literary Arts'' series. The stamp's portrait was created by

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

-based artist Jody Hewgill. In 2011, Burgos was inducted into the New York Writers Hall of Fame. There is a plaque, located at the monument to the

Jayuya Uprising The Jayuya Uprising, also known as Jayuya Revolt or Cry of Jayuya (), was a Nationalist insurrection that took place on October 30, 1950, in the town of Jayuya, Puerto Rico. The insurrection, led by Blanca Canales, was one of the multiple insur ...

participants in

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is the ninth-largest Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez (Township of Virgin of Candelaria, Our Lady of Candelaria), and is also ...

, honoring the women of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. Burgos' name is on the sixth line of the third plate. On May 29, 2014, The Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico honored 12 illustrious women with plaques in the "La Plaza en Honor a la Mujer Puertorriqueña" (Plaza in Honor of Puerto Rican Women) in San Juan. According to the plaques each of the 12 women, who by virtue of their merits and legacies, stand out in the history of Puerto Rico. Burgos was among the 12 who were honored. In September 2017, artist-activist Molly Crabapple (herself of Puerto Rican descent) disbursed the profits of the sales of her portrait of de Burgos to the Puerto Rico

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that affected the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which accounted for 2,975 of the 3,059 deaths. It is the ...

Recovery Fund. The ''

giclée Giclée ( ) describes Digital printing, digital prints intended as fine art and produced by inkjet printers. The term is a neologism, ultimately derived from the French language, French word ''gicleur,'' coined in 1991 by Printmaking, printmaker ...

'' 17″ x 22″ print is captioned with one of the poet's most famous lines: "En todo me lo juego a ser lo que soy yo/I gamble everything to be what I am." In 2018, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' published a belated obituary for her as part of their Overlooked No More series.

In music

The third movement of

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

's '' Songfest: A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra'' is a setting of Burgos' poem "A Julia de Burgos". Jack Gottlieb wrote, "In angry words (sung in Spanish) she expresses her defiance of the dual role she plays as a conventional woman and as a liberated woman-poet. (Her poem antedates by two decades the

women's liberation movement The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism. It emerged in the late 1960s and continued till the 1980s, primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which resulted in g ...

.) The music is sharply rhythmic, and might well be underscoring for a bullfight." Composer

Awilda Villarini Awilda M. Villarini-Garcia (born 6 February 1940) is a Puerto Rican composer and pianist who publishes and performs under the name "Awilda Villarini." Villarini was born in Patillas. Her first piano teacher was her mother, who was a church orga ...

set de Burgos' work to music in her composition "Two Love Songs."

Publications

* ''Song of the Simple Truth: The Complete Poems of Julia de Burgos'' (dual-language edition: Spanish, English), trans. Jack Agueros. Curbstone Books, 1997; * ''Yo misma fui mi ruta'', Ediciones Huracán, 1986; * ''Amor y soledad'', Ediciones Torremozas, 1994; * ''El Mar Y Tu'', Ediciones Huracan, 1981; * ''Cancion De La Verdad Sencilla (Vortice Ser)'', Ediciones Huracan, 1982; * ''Poema en Veinte Surcos'', Ediciones Huracan, 1983; * ''Poema Río Grande de Loíza'' * ''Poemas exactos de mí misma'' * ''Dame tu hora perdída'' * '' Ay, ay, ay de la grifa negra''

Biographical/Documentary films

"Julia...Todo En Mi"
on the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

"Vida y poesía de Julia de Burgos
on the

References

External links

*
Catastrophic Historicism: Reading Julia de Burgos Dangerously
'
Julia de Burgos: La creación de un ícono puertorriqueño
*
Becoming Julia de Burgos: The Making of a Puerto Rican Icon
' * The Complete Chronology / Cronología Completa de su vida y obr

*
Julia de Burgos stamp
(U.S. Postal Service site)
Centro Journal. Special Issue on Julia de Burgos

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgos, Julia 1914 births 1953 deaths People from Carolina, Puerto Rico 20th-century Puerto Rican poets Puerto Rican women writers Puerto Rican Nationalist Party politicians Members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Deaths from pneumonia in New York City 20th-century Puerto Rican women politicians 20th-century Puerto Rican politicians Puerto Rican independence activists 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers Female revolutionaries Puerto Rican women