Father Francisco Ayerra de Santa María (1630–1708) is considered to be Puerto Rico's first native born poet.

Early years

Santa Maria was born in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the ...

, where he received his primary and secondary education. He went to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

as a young and enrolled in the

University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

, where he earned a degree in Canonic Law. Following this, he was ordained as priest. "Puerto Rican Poetry: A Selection from Aboriginal to Contemporary Times"; by Roberto Marquez; Pg. 25-26; Publisher:

University of Massachusetts Press The University of Massachusetts Press is a university press that is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts a ...

(January 31, 2007); ; It was in Mexico that Santa Maria wrote most of his works and became successful as a poet. His Poetic style was known as "cultural", because it was based on religious and historical themes. He wrote his verses in both

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

. His work has been included in many anthologies.

First rector of the Tridentino Seminary in Mexico

In 1690, Carlos de Sigüenza, a Mexican Intellectual, became fascinated with the adventures of Puerto Rican named Alonzo Ramirez, who as a child embarked from San Juan, Puerto Rico on an adventurous voyage in 1675, that would take him around the world and eventually to his final destination Yucatan, Mexico. Sigüenza wrote the book titled "Infortunios de Alonso Ramírez" (The Misfortunes of Alonso Ramirez) where he narrated these adventures. Archival evidence recently discovered by Fabio López-Lázaro proves not only the existence of Ramírez but also the historical accuracy of his experiences with pirates, most noticeably

William Dampier William Dampier (baptised 5 September 1651; died March 1715) was an English explorer, pirate, privateer, navigator, and naturalist who became the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnav ...

, as narrated by Sigüenza. Santa Maria held the position of Censor from the Holy Office in Mexico when he was approached by Sigüenza. During this period of time, the church would normally censor that type of work, however Santa Maria who like Ramirez was also a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, overlooked his obligations and cleared it for publication. It is believed that Alonso Ramirez is the first Puerto Rican to have traveled around the world. Eventually, Santa Maria became the first rector of the Tridentino Seminary in Mexico. Father Francisco Ayerra de Santa Maria died in Mexico in 1708. The Misfortunes of Alonso Ramirez (1690)
/ref>

Notes

References

External links

The Misfortunes of Alonso Ramirez (1690)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Maria, Francisco Ayerra de 1630 births 1708 deaths Puerto Rican poets Puerto Rican male writers Puerto Rican religious leaders Writers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Roman Catholics National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni

Early years

First rector of the Tridentino Seminary in Mexico

See also

Notes

References

External links