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The eldest of thirteen children, poet Julia Constanza Burgos Garcia was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, and grew up in the barrio of Santa Cruz. She earned a teaching certificate at the University of Puerto Rico, and worked as a teacher at the Barrio Cedro Arriba in Naranjito before moving to New York, where she worked as a journalist, and then Cuba, where she pursued further studies at the University of Havana. Returning to New York after two years in Cuba, Burgos served as the art and culture editor for the progressive newspaper Pueblos Hispanos.

Predating the Nuyorican poetry movement, Burgos' poems engage themes of feminism and social justice. In a 2011 profile of Burgos for Ms. Magazine's blog, Vanessa Perez Rosario states, "De Burgos was an ambitious and brilliant woman who worked diligently on two fronts-to establish herself as a writer of international acclaim and to eradicate injustice. Her feminist politics and her Afro-Caribbean ideas allow us to read her as a precursor to contemporary U.S. Latina/o writers."

Burgos is the author of the poetry collections Poemas exactos a mi misma (1937), Poema en veinte surcos (1938), Canción de la verdad sencilla (1939), and the posthumously-published El mar y tú: otros poemas (1954). Overviews of her work include Obra Poética (1961) and Antologia poética (1967), as well as the critical study Julia de Burgos: vida y poesia (1967) by Ivette Jiménez Báez.

Her honors include awards from the Institute of Puerto Rican Literature and an honorary doctorate from the University of Puerto Rico. Burgos died in Harlem, and her body was returned to Puerto Rico, and is buried in the municipal cemetery at Carolina. She is the namesake for many schools, parks, and cultural centers, including the Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center in Cleveland, the Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center in East Harlem, and Julia de Burgos Park in Chicago.

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The eldest of thirteen children, poet Julia Constanza Burgos Garcia was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, and grew up in the barrio of Santa Cruz. She earned a teaching certificate at the University of Puerto Rico, and worked as a teacher at the Barrio Cedro Arriba in Naranjito before moving to New...

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Using "Puerto Rico is In You", Julia de Burgos is able to relay her strong Puerto Rican heritage and roots to the reader. Her poem is unique to herself because it is written from her perspective as someone who grew up patriotic. She sends a message to the reader and references important people who have come before her.

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Google Drive is a free way to keep your files backed up and easy to reach from any phone, tablet, or computer. Start with 15GB of Google storage - free.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Through "To Julia de Burgos", the poem makes light on the stereotypes of women. It proves universally that women are held up to unrealistic standards that Julia compares to her true self. She states she is proud and different than what people wish her to be which speaks strongly towards many generations.

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Josie Garrison

Puerto Rico depends on your life and name,

resting on you are millions of hopes

to be resurrected in what was stolen from us

and to renew the worth of your Nations honor.

The voice of independence that we follow with you

-- those who alive with honor refuse the alms of a Puerto Rico " associated and ridiculous state" -- will thunder in the winds with the starred nation, starred with love, smiles and affection

with a single happy star, unaccompanied.

Take this message, Puerto Rican and mine:

your free brothers in New York are with you

and follow your lead by the light of one star

Gilberto Conception de Gracia, of grace of combat.

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Meet Google Drive - One place for all your files

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Google Drive is a free way to keep your files backed up and easy to reach from any phone, tablet, or computer. Start with 15GB of Google storage - free.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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The Julio de Burgos Park is a recreational space in the metropolitan town of Carolina. In the park, you'll find a five-mile-long trail, exercise areas, and a small water park for kids called Aquasol.

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The Julio de Burgos Park is a recreational space in the metropolitan town of Carolina. In the park, you'll find a five-mile-long trail, exercise areas, and a small water park for kids called Aquasol.

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Julia de Burgos, born Julia Constanza Burgos Garcia (February 17, 1914 - July 6, 1953), was a Puerto Rican poet and civil rights activist for women and African/Afro-Caribbean writers. She was also an advocate for Puerto Rican independence and served as Secretary General of the Daughters of Freedom, the women's branch of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party.

Burgos was born and raised in Santa Cruz, a poor area of Carolina, Puerto Rico where her father owned a farm in addition to working as a member of the Puerto Rican National Guard.

She was the eldest of her thirteen siblings; six of her younger siblings tragically died of malnutrition. Nevertheless, she was the only one given the opportunity to attend school.

Beginning a teaching career

Burgos graduated from Munoz Rivera Primary in 1928 and was awarded a scholarship to attend University High School, so her family moved to Rio Piedras.

She was an intelligent, dedicated student, and loved literature from a young age. The writings of Luis Llorens Torres, Clara Lair, Rafael Alberti, and Pablo Neruda were among those who influenced her career as a young poet.

In 1931, Burgos enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus with the intention of becoming a teacher. In 1933, though still only nineteen years old, she earned her teaching degree from the University of Puerto Rico and taught at Feijoo Elementary School in Barrio Cedro Arriba of Naranjito, Puerto Rico.

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Failed marriages lead to depression

Burgos' teaching career was cut short when she met her first husband, Ruben Rodriguez Beauchamp, in 1934. She started doing civil rights work in 1936 and became a member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party (Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico) and was later elected as the Secretary-General of the Daughters of Freedom, women's branch of the Nationalist Party.

The start to her new career was followed by the end of her marriage to Beauchamp; they divorced after just three years of marriage.

After her divorce, Burgos started an intense romantic relationship with Dominican historian, physician, and political Juan Isidro Jiménez Grullón. Her love for him would become a major inspiration for her poetry, later in her career. They traveled to Cuba together in 1939 where Burgos briefly attended school at the University of Havana. This was followed by a sojourn to New York City, where she worked as a journalist for Pueblos Hispanos, a progressive newspaper.

Her relationship with Grullón started to take a negative turn shortly after they arrived in Cuba. Burgos tried to save the relationship, to no avail. She returned to New York alone, and she worked menial jobs to support herself.

While starting a life of her own in New York City, Burgos met Vieques musician, Armando Marín. They married in 1943 but this marriage, too, ended in divorce. Burgos fell further into depression and alcoholism.

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6 Poems by Julia de Burgos About Love and Identity
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Themes of her work

Burgos had already become a published writer in journals and newspapers by the early 1930s. She also published three books that contained a collection of her poems. To promote her first two books, she traveled all over Puerto Rico, giving readings. Her third book was published in 1954, collecting poetry that addressed the social struggles of those oppressed on the island of Puerto Rico.

Some critics have placed Burgos' poetry among the work of feminist writers and poets, along with that of other Latinx authors. She writes in one of her poems: "I am life, strength, woman."

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"Soldaderas" by Yasmin Hernandez, 2011
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Awards and Honors; the legacy of Julia de Burgos

In July 1940, Julia de Burgos was awarded a Puerto Rican literary prize for her second collection of poems, Canción de la Verdad Sencilla ( Song of the Simple Truth).

In 1986, she was awarded by the Spanish Department of the University of Puerto Rico and was granted a posthumous doctorate in Human Arts and Letters.

In 2002, a documentary about the life of Julia de Burgos was created titled "Julia, Toda en mi..." directed and produced by Ivonne Belén. In 1978 another biopic of her life titled "Vida y poesía de Julia de Burgos," was filmed and released in Puerto Rico.

In 2006, a mosaic mural titled "Remembering Julia," by artist Manny Vega was inaugurated. It is located between 106th Street between Lexington and Third Avenue in East Harlem.

On September 14, 2010, the United States Postal Service held a ceremony in San Juan in honor of Burgos's life and literary work. They issued a first-class postage stamp which was the 26th release in the postal system's Literary Arts series. Toronto-based artist Jody Hewgill created the stamp's beautiful portrait.

In 2011, Yasmin Hernandez created a mural called "Soldaderas" (Women Soldiers) that was inaugurated at the community garden Modesto Flores Garden on Lexington Avenue between 104th and 105th street. Interestingly, just one block away inside the old building of P.S. 72 is the Julia Burgos Latino Cultural Center. This is of great importance to the Latinx community as it is one of the mainstays of cultural life in El Barrio. This year, she was also inducted into the New York Writers Hall of Fame.

On May 29, 2014, twelve notable women were honored with plaques in the "La Plaza en Honor a la Mujer Puertorriqueña" (Plaza in Honor of Puerto Rican Women) in San Juan. Burgos was among the twelve who were honored who, according to their plaques, stand out by virtue of their merits and legacies.

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Portrait of Julia de Burgos by Jody Hewgill, 2010
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An early death

On June 28, 1953, Julia de Burgos left a relative's home in Brooklyn where she had been living. She was nowhere to be found until July 6, 1953 when she had collapsed on a sidewalk in the Spanish Harlem section of Manhattan.

After being taken to a hospital in Harlem, she died of pneumonia at the young age of thirty-nine. Burgos was not wearing any ID when she passed away and was buried as "Jane Doe" at the public cemetery on Hart Island.

Her friends began to look for her after noticing that she had been missing. Her disappearance was even recognized by El Diario/La Prensa as they published a notice an an effort to find her. After days of intensive search, her body was unearthed and sent to Carolina, her hometown, for a proper burial.

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"Remembering Julia" by Manny Vega, 2006
More about Julia de Burgos
On this site Major Works

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 ("I myself was my route, Hurricane Editions") - 1986

Amor y soledad, Ediciones Torremozas ("Love and loneliness, Torremozas Editions") - 1994

El Mar Y Tu, Ediciones Huracán ("The Sea and You, Hurricane Editions") - 1981

Canción De La Verdad Sencilla (Vortice Ser), Ediciones Huracán ("Song of the Simple Truth (Vortex Be), Hurricane Editions") - 1982

Poema en Veinte Surcos, Ediciones Huracán ("Poem in Winding Furrows, Hurricane Editions") - 1983

Poema Río Grande de Loíza ("Great River Poem of Loiza")

Poemas exactos de mí misma ("Exact poems of myself")

Dame tu hora perdída ("Give me your lost time")

Ay, ay, ay de la grifa negra ("Oh, oh, oh of the black grif")

Biographies

Becoming Julia de Burgos: The Making of a Puerto Rican Icon by Vanessa Perez Rosario (2014)

Julia: Cuando Los Grandes Eran Pequeños by Georgina Lázaro (2006)

More Information
Skyler Isabella Gomez is a 2019 SUNY New Paltz graduate with a degree in Public Relations and a minor in Black Studies. Her passions include connecting more with her Latin roots by researching and writing about legendary Latina authors.

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Julia de Burgos, Puerto Rican Poet | LiteraryLadiesGuide

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Julia de Burgos, born Julia Constanza Burgos Garcia (February 17, 1914 - July 6, 1953), was a Puerto Rican poet and civil rights activist for women and African/Afro-Caribbean writers. She was also an advocate for Puerto Rican independence and served as Secretary General of the Daughters of Freedom, the women's branch of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party.

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Map from Puerto Rico to New York!! Both places Julia de Burgos lived in and wrote her beautiful poems in!

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Image Source:
Geology.com

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From her early childhood, Julia de Burgos has gone through a tough time in growing up. Through her poems, she exhibits how those experiences has molded her into a fantastic writer, establishing her beliefs in femininity and equality. Her first published writing was "Poems in Five Furrows" which focused on concerns with nationalism, feminism, and racial discrimination (Redmond). Her most popular collection of poems was "Song of Simple Truth" which evokes themes of eroticism and love from a female perspective (Redmond). Through these poems, she has established how she is unique and should be accepted the way she is. From this collection of poems, she won first prize of poem from the Institute of Puerto Rican Literature (Redmond). Even today, her works are powerful and motivating for young women struggling with sexism. Because of her struggles in growing up, she strived to gain representation to prevent generations in Puerto Rico to go through the same experiences.

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Image Source:
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To read more of Julia de Burgos's poems, here are some of our other favorites:
1. I was my Own Route
2. The Sea and You
3. Bitter Song

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Sonoma State University

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"De Burgos was ever searching for a language of the beyond, a wording beyond language itself." - Edward Hirsch

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“De Burgos was an ambitious and brilliant woman who worked diligently on two fronts—to establish herself as a writer of international acclaim and to eradicate injustice. Her feminist politics and her Afro-Caribbean ideas allow us to read her as a precursor to contemporary U.S. Latina/o writers.”

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Jane A.

Already the people murmur that I am your enemy
because they say that in verse I give the world your me.

They lie, Julia de Burgos. They lie, Julia de Burgos.
Who rises in my verses is not your voice. It is my voice
because you are the dressing and the essence is me;
and the most profound abyss is spread between us.

You are the cold doll of social lies,
and me, the virile starburst of the human truth.

You, honey of courtesan hypocrisies; not me;
in all my poems I undress my heart.

You are like your world, selfish; not me
who gambles everything betting on what I am.

You are only the ponderous lady very lady;
not me; I am life, strength, woman.

You belong to your husband, your master; not me;
I belong to nobody, or all, because to all, to all
I give myself in my clean feeling and in my thought.

You curl your hair and paint yourself; not me;
the wind curls my hair, the sun paints me.

You are a housewife, resigned, submissive,
tied to the prejudices of men; not me;
unbridled, I am a runaway Rocinante
snorting horizons of God's justice.

You in yourself have no say; everyone governs you;
your husband, your parents, your family,
the priest, the dressmaker, the theatre, the dance hall,
the auto, the fine furnishings, the feast, champagne,
heaven and hell, and the social, "what will they say."

Not in me, in me only my heart governs,
only my thought; who governs in me is me.
You, flower of aristocracy; and me, flower of the people.
You in you have everything and you owe it to everyone,
while me, my nothing I owe to nobody.

You nailed to the static ancestral dividend,
and me, a one in the numerical social divider,
we are the duel to death who fatally approaches.

When the multitudes run rioting
leaving behind ashes of burned injustices,
and with the torch of the seven virtues,
the multitudes run after the seven sins,
against you and against everything unjust and inhuman,
I will be in their midst with the torch in my hand.
(De Burgos [Page 2-5])