The Philharmonic Society of Puerto Príncipe, today Camagüey, honored the writer Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda as a Member of Merit and on June 3rd, 1860, at the house of the Marquises of Santa Lucía, in Cisneros corner of Martí Street, at 9 p.m.

At nine o’clock at night, by car and escorted by a group of ladies, Avellaneda arrived at the Society where 12 gentlemen with burning torches were waiting for her. The Marchioness of Santa Lucia and other leading ladies were waiting for her on the stairs and presented her with flowers. Already on the first floor of the residence, the honoree was given a white wreath with the diploma accrediting her as a Member of Merit.

What was the program?

The researcher Ciro Bianchi refers that there was music by Rossini and other authors. Between speeches and poems, Cucalambé’s brother, Antonio Nápoles, was introduced. Verses by the slave poet Juan Antonio Frías were also read.

Ciro points out, the duration of the program, somewhat long, as a consequence the honoree, Gertrudis, after speaking about her love for the land where she was born and evoking the memory of her mother, who sleeps “her eternal dream in a place that do not cover the palms or reeds of the tropics and whose flowers will not be watered by the waters of the Tínima”, she asked to return to the house where she was staying.

However, the principeños, pointed out the intellectual Roberto Méndez, were not easy to discourage. Even in the absence of the honoree, they sang for their own pleasure the third act of Hernani, scheduled to close the night, devoured the succulent buffet ordered for the party and danced like crazy until two in the morning.

Transcendence

Gertrudis bequeathed her work, her thoughts and her rebellious, transgressive and sincere spirit.

“The most scandalous thing about Avellaneda, even today, it is not her intimate life, but her condition as a writer, resolutely monumental, who produced the most extensive and resistant lyrical, narrative and scenic work of our literature until 1870. She is not only the most important poetess of the nineteenth century ꟷwhich would be a small honor for herꟷ but one of the key figures of American romanticism and perhaps of them, the one that best points out as a latent precursor of the modernist rebellion.” Mendez, Roberto (2016).

In Camagüey, a theater of beautiful eclecticism bears her name, built on the street where she was born, which also bears it. Likewise, a sculpture inspired by her social imprint, mark the beginning of the artery. In addition, educational centers also honor her memory.

Bibliography

Bianchi, Ciro (2021) “Las coronaciones de la Avellaneda” en Juventud Rebelde digital, 25 de septiembre 2021. [Recuperado 1 de junio de 2022.]

Méndez, Roberto (2016) “El legado de Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda” en Cubarte 27 de octubre de 2016. [Recuperado 1 de junio de 2022.]

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García