The distinguished poet Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, from Camagüey, a representative of the Cuban Romantic movement, a precursor of the anti-slavery novel, and a defender of women's social role, died in Madrid on February 1, 1873, at the age of 59.
Known in her personal life as "Tula" and in literary circles by her pseudonym "La Peregrina" or "La Avellaneda," as she was also known, she was born in Camagüey on March 23, 1814. She dedicated one of the main facets of her talent to the stage, authoring plays that garnered admiration from audiences, critics, and other playwrights in many countries.
One of her best-known literary works is her farewell sonnet to her homeland in 1836, and another she wrote in memory of the celebrated Cuban poet José María Heredia. Other examples of her outstanding work include her novels "Sab," "Dos mujeres," and "Guatimozin."
Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda's fertile intellect also flourished in journalism. She was the founder, director, and principal editor of Álbum Cubano de lo Bueno y lo Bello (Cuban Album of the Good and the Beautiful), a literary magazine that championed feminist ideas and strongly supported Cuban women journalists.
The daughter of a Spaniard and a Cuban woman, her father, Manuel Gómez de Avellaneda, was a commander in the Spanish Navy, and her mother, Francisca de Arteaga y Betancourt, belonged to a wealthy and illustrious family from Camagüey. After her father's death in 1836, her family moved to Spain, eventually settling in A Coruña, where they decided to remain. There, in 1839, she published her first works under the pseudonym La Peregrina (The Pilgrim). In June 1840, her first play, Leoncia, premiered and was well-received in Seville. During this period, she met Ignacio de Cepeda, a man with whom she shared a passionate love that defined her life and work. She masterfully captured this love in her autobiography and letters, published by Lorenzo Cruz in 1837.
In 1840, she moved to Madrid, where the most fertile period of her literary life began. Between 1840 and 1846, her book "Poesías" (1841), her anti-slavery novel "Sab" (1841), and her novels "Dos mujeres" (1842-1843), "Espatolino" (1844), and "Guatimozín" (1845) were published, and she associated with the leading writers of the time in Europe.
During these years, she had a romantic relationship with the poet Gabriel García Tassara, with whom she had a daughter, born in April 1845, who died at seven months old. In May 1846, she married Pedro Sebater, the civil governor of Madrid, who died six months later from a laryngeal ailment in the French city of Bordeaux in August 1846. Following her husband's death, Gertrudis withdrew to the Convent of Our Lady of Loreto in Bordeaux. After returning to Madrid, recovered from the loss of her daughter and husband, between 1849 and 1853 she premiered seven dramatic works: "Saul" (1849), a biblical tragedy warmly received by the public; "Flavio Recaredo" (1851); "La verdad vence apariencias" (1852); "Errores del corazón" (1852); "El donativo del diablo" (1852); "La hija de las flores" (1852); and "La Aventurera" (1853).
She republished her Poems in 1851 and published a historical story, “Dolores. Pages from a Family Chronicle.” Two new legends appeared in the Semanario Pintoresco Español: “The Fern Evening” (1849) and “The Cursed Mountain” (1851). Her rebellious nature and her defense of feminist ideals prevented her admission to the Royal Spanish Academy in 1853.
In 1855, she married Domingo Verdugo y Massieu, a colonel and member of Parliament. During those years, she wrote several legends that she would later collect in her Literary Works and premiered “Sympathy and Antipathy” (1855), “King René’s Daughter” (1855), “Thalia’s Oracles, or the Palace Goblins” (1855), “The Three Loves” (1858), and “Baltasar” (1858), one of the author’s best dramatic works. Her literary output was affected when her husband was seriously wounded in a dispute that arose from the premiere of "Los tres amores" (The Three Loves), and in 1859 the couple moved to Cuba, where Colonel Verdugo died in 1863 from his injuries.
Upon returning to her homeland, she resumed her literary work. In 1860, she edited the magazine El Álbum Cubano (The Cuban Album), in which she published her legends "La montaña maldita" (The Cursed Mountain), "La dama de Amboto" (The Lady of Amboto), and "La flor del ángel" (The Angel's Flower). On January 27, 1860, she was honored in Havana, where the intellectuals of the time paid tribute to this remarkable Cuban woman.
Years later, she returned to Spain, where she died on February 1, 1873, in Madrid. During her final years, she dedicated herself almost exclusively to revising her works and preparing the complete edition of her "Obras literarias, dramáticas y poéticas" (Literary, Dramatic, and Poetic Works) (1869-1871).
Her native Camagüey remembers her name daily, as one of its main avenues is named Avellaneda in homage to that illustrious poet, writer, and advocate for the active role of women who, although she shone outside of Cuba, never hid the love for his Cuban origin.