On March 23th, 1814, in the former town of Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe, today Camagüey, a proud woman of her time and of all Cuban women was born.

Despite residing more than half of her life in Spain, she never forgot her beloved Cuba. She wrote plays that aroused the admiration of the public, specialized critics and other dramatists, Avellaneda devoted one of the main edges of her talent to the theater.

In the dramaturgical production of her we can name among other famous works “Flavio Recaredo”, “Baltasar”, “Saúl”, “Oráculos de Talía”, “The daughter of the flowers”, “The truth overcomes appearances” and “Sympathy and antipathy” .

Tula also used lyrical resources in an extraordinary way. The ode in homage to the Cuban bard José María Heredia, is part of her most impressive poetry. While her poem “Upon leaving” is shocking every time we reread it, it was her manifesto when she said goodbye to the Island in 1836:

Sea Pearl! Star of the West!

Beautiful Cuba! Your bright sky

the night covers with its opaque veil,

how pain covers my sad forehead.

I’m leaving! … The diligent mob,

to tear me from the native soil

hoist the sails, and ready to wake up

the breeze comes from your burning area.

Goodbye, happy homeland, dear Eden!

Wherever fate in its fury impels me,

your sweet name will flatter my ear!

Goodbye! … Already the turgid sail creaks …

they weigh anchor … the ship, shaken,

cut off the waves and silent flies.

His narrative career also left samples of outstanding values, such as “Sab”, “Two Women” and “Guatimozin”, “The last emperor of Mexico”.

The fertile intellect of Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda also bore fruit in journalism, in which she carried out her top work in the functions of founder, director and main editor of “Album Cubano de lo Bueno y lo Bello”, a literary magazine defender of feminine ideas and strong support for journalistic work carried out by women.

On February 1ST, 1873, Cuba and the world would lose an extraordinary voice of feminism and Hispanic literature: Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda.

Tula, you will continue walking through the streets of your legendary Puerto Príncipe even when it was Spain, who gave you the last goodbye. You will never disappear; your essence inhabits each paving stone.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García