Heart of Quisqueya
Salomé Ureña was a poet and educator from the Dominican Republic. She was a 19th century leader, born on October 21, 1850 in the city of Santo Domingo. She was raised in a well-read and cultured family. Her father, Nicolás Ureña, was himself a well-known writer. He introduced her to the classics of Spanish and French literature and cultivated her love of writing. These are assets that help her develop as a poet, herself. At the young age of seventeen, Salomé Ureña, or Herminia as her pen name, became a published poet. Her publishing was historically a unique achievement. Also, at this time, many women had to take on a male pen name in order to publish if they were to publish at all. Therefore, her female pen name of Herminia was, from the beginning of her career, unique. Years later, she wrote under her birth name, Salomé Ureña. Her signature writing style had several attributes, including feminism, nature, and multiculturalism. Her lyrism, female perspective, patriotism and the presence of nature in her poetry became key. In her writing, she celebrated the land, the mountains, plants, the island of Quisqueya, the original, indigenous name for the island of Hispaniola. This is significant because Quisqueya is a Taino indigenous word which means mother of the lands. Ureña wanted to celebrate Taino culture, the original culture of the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean Islands. Importantly as well, African rhythms are present in the lyrism of her poetry, in addition to the influence of European poetry, mainly from Spain and France. As an educator, Ureña was influenced by her mother, Gregoria Díaz, considerably. Her mother introduced her to education and the importance of the learning process, especially for women, who many times did not have access to formal education. In 1881, Salomé Ureña founded the first institution of higher education for women in the Dominican Republic, another unusual achievement at that time. This institution was an opportunity for education for many women, who, upon graduation, became educators, themselves. This was a very meaningful logro, an achievement not only for Salomé Ureña but also for women in Latin America since education had been in general unattainable for women beforehand and at this time in history. Salomé Ureña married Francisco Henríquez y Carvajal at the age of thirty. He was instrumental in the foundation of Ureña’s institution of higher education in the Dominican Republic, as well. Making Salomé Ureña a leading 19th-century figure, her love of education and literature was central. She died on March 6, 1897, at forty-six years of age, leaving a legacy for women’s rights for generations to come.
Read, listen, and enjoy our homage to Salomé Ureña, “Mother of the Lands” by Xánath Caraza.
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