José de Diego
José de Diego y Martínez (born April 16, 1866 in Aguadilla , Puerto Rico , † July 16, 1918 in New York City ) was a Puerto Rican journalist and politician who campaigned for the independence of Puerto Rico.
Life
Early years
After studying in Mayagüez , he moved to Spain , where he attended the Polytechnic College of Logroño . During his time in Spain he collaborated with the newspaper El Progreso , founded by José Julián Acosta , which dealt critically with the political situation in Puerto Rico. After several arrests, de Diego returned to the island.
After an unhappy love affair with Carmen Echavarría , he wrote the poem A Laura in 1886 , which was very popular with the romantics of the time. Together with Román Baldorioty de Castro , Diego founded the Autonomist Party in 1887 .
He then went back to Spain to study law in Barcelona . After earning his doctorate in 1892, he fought in Puerto Rico for independence from Spain. He worked as a lawyer in Arecibo and founded the newspaper La República . Together with Luis Muñoz Rivera and Matienzo Cintrón he formed a committee that was ultimately able to convince the Spanish representative Práxedes Mateo Sagasta of the idea of autonomy. De Diego planned to establish a confederation of Spanish-speaking islands in the Caribbean , which would include the Dominican Republic and Cuba . In 1897 Spain recognized the autonomy of Puerto Rico, but this status was only valid for a short time.
politics
After the United States invaded Puerto Rico as part of the Spanish-American War , the Peace of Paris ended the conflict in 1898 and forced Spain, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guam, and the Philippines to surrender to the United States. The US President appointed de Diego a member of the island's executive board, but de Diego did not accept the office because he was committed to the island's self-government.
In 1904 he founded the Unionist Party with Luis Muñoz Rivera and Antonio R. Barceló . From 1904 to 1917 he was President of the House of Representatives, which was subject to the veto power of the US President and failed with the desire for independence and self-government and rejected the imposition of US citizenship for Puerto Ricans.
legacy
José de Diego is considered one of the greatest poets in Puerto Rico and the father of the modern Puerto Rican poetry movement. His best-known poems include A Laura and Póstuma and the books Pomarrosas , Jovillos , Cantos de Rebeldía and Cantos del Pitirre . He founded the Colegio de Agricultura y Artes Mecánicas de Mayagüez , the forerunner of today's university. Spain honored him as Caballero de la Raza (Knight of the Race).
In 1916 his right leg had to be amputated because of a gangrene infection. Two years later he died while reading a poem in New York. He is buried in the Old San Juan cemetery in the capital, San Juan .
His birthday is an official holiday in Puerto Rico and many schools and streets on the island are named after him. Schools in Brooklyn and Miami also bear his name.
Works
- Obras Completas. Nuevas Campañas, el Plebiscito. San Juan de Puerto Rico: Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1973.
- Pomarrosas. Barcelona: Imprenta de Henrich y Ca. en Comnadita, 1904.
- Ripoll, Luis. Antología Poética. España: Palma de Mallorca, 1977.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Diego, José de |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Diego y Benítez, José de |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Puerto Rican poet and politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 16, 1866 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Aguadilla , Puerto Rico |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 16, 1918 |
| Place of death | New York City , New York, United States |