Virginia Brindis de Salas (18 September 1908 – 6 April 1958)"Brindis de Salas, Virginia"
Autores.uy. was a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

of the

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

community of

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. The country's leading black woman poet, she is also considered "the most militant among Afro-Uruguayan writers".Caroll Mills Young
"The Unmasking of Virginia Brindis de Salas: Minority Discourse of Afro-Uruguay"
in Miriam DeCosta-Willis, ''Daughters of the Diaspora: Afra-Hispanic Writers'', Ian Randle Publishers, 2003, pp. 11–24. Her poetry addresses the social reality of Black Uruguayans. Little is known about her life; according to Joy Elizondo, she claimed to be the niece of Cuban violinist

Claudio Brindis de Salas Claudio Brindis de Salas Monte (Havana, 30 October 1800 – 17 December 1872) was a black violinist and double bass player who directed the most famous Cuban dance orchestra of his day. His band, the ''Concha de Oro'' (the "Golden Shell"), foun ...

,Joy Elizondo
"Brindis de Salas, Virginia"
in

Anthony Appiah Kwame Akroma-Ampim Kusi Anthony Appiah ( ; born 8 May 1954) is a philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist whose interests include political and moral theory, the philosophy of language and mind, and African intellectual history. Appiah was ...

and

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. (born September 16, 1950) is an American literary critic, professor, historian, and filmmaker, who serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African Amer ...

(eds), ''Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience'', Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 626 –627. though this is unsubstantiated.

Background

Born in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Uruguay, the daughter of José Salas and María Blanca Rodríguez, Virginia Brindis de Salas was an active contributor to the black artistic journal '' Nuestra Raza''. Her writings made her, along with fellow Afro-Uruguayan Pilar Barrios, one of the few published Uruguayan women poets.

Poetry collections

Brindis de Salas published two collections of poetry. The first, ''Pregón de Marimorena'' ("The Call of Mary Morena"), came out in 1946, bringing her a certain amount of recognition. Chilean Nobel laureate Gabriela Mistral wrote of Brindis de Salas: "Sing, beloved Virginia, you are the only one of your race who represents Uruguay. Your poetry is known in Los Angeles and in the West. I have heard of your recent work through diplomatic friends, and, may God grant that this book be the key that opens coffers of luck to the only brave black Uruguayan woman that I know." In 1949 Brindis de Salas issued ''Cien Cárceles de Amor'' ("One Hundred Prisons of Love"), which is divided into four sections that each highlight a different type of African-derived music: "Ballads", "Calls", "Tangos" and "Songs". According to

Caroll Mills Young Caroll is a name, a variant of Carol, Carrol, or Carroll. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Caroll Spinney (1933–2019), American puppeteer and cartoonist Middle name *DeRosey Caroll Cabell (1861 – 1924), American genera ...

, in both collections Brindis de Salas "poetically evokes the social and cultural reality of Afro-Uruguay.... The volumes are intended to promote social change in Uruguay; they exemplify the poet's crusade for solidarity, equality, and dignity."Caroll Mills Young, in Miriam DeCosta-Willis, ''Daughters of the Diaspora'' (2003), p. 22. In the prologue to ''Cien Cárceles de Amor'' Brindis de Salas mentioned a forthcoming third volume entitled ''Cantos de lejanía'' ("Songs from Faraway"), but this book was never published.

Background

Poetry collections

See also

References

Further reading