Agustín Acosta y Bello (1886–1979) was a

Cuban Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Americ ...

poet, essayist, writer and politician. Acosta is considered by historians to be one of the most important Cuban writers of the twentieth century, and one of the three most important poets in the entire

history of Cuba The island of Cuba was inhabited by various Native American cultures prior to the arrival of the explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492. After his arrival, Spain conquered Cuba and appointed Spanish governors to rule in Havana. The administra ...

. Acosta was a revolutionary activist, and his poetry reflected his Cuban

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

. He was both the

National poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...

of Cuba and also one of its Senators, when the Republic still existed. He won awards for his poetry, but also spent time as a political prisoner for criticizing the Cuban President. He lambasted the hegemonic powers of the United States in the Caribbean, but also went into exile there in the last years of his life. Acosta's brother was José Manuel Acosta y Bello, one of the most famous Cuban political cartoonists of his day, who illustrated most of Acosta's poems when they were published in magazines.

Early life

Acosta's parents were migrants to Cuba from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. Technically they were not immigrants, because both island groups were possessions of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

at the time. He was born in a large house on Calzada de Tirry street, at the mouth of the bay, in

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...

, Cuba. His primary and secondary schools were both in Matanzas. As a young man, he worked as a

telegraph operator A telegraphist (British English), telegrapher (American English), or telegraph operator is a person who uses a telegraph key to send and receive Morse code messages in a telegraphy system. These messages, also called telegrams, can be transmitte ...

for a Cuban railroad. Eventually, he rose through the ranks and became the director of the telegraph office. Between 1909 and 1920, Acosta acted as a director of the Telegraph offices of Matanzas and Havana. Concurrently, while working at the telegraph offices, he was studying law at the

University of Havana The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...

. In 1918, he graduated with a Doctorate in Civil Law. In 1921, he became a

public notary A notary public ( notary or public notary; notaries public) of the common law is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with general financial transactions, estates, deeds, powers- ...

Jagüey Grande Jagüey Grande, simply known as Jagüey (), is a town and municipality in the Matanzas Province of Cuba. It is located east of the Zapata Peninsula, north of the Bahia de Cochinos, along the A1 motorway in the center of the province. History The ...

. He lived most of his life in Jagüey Grande.

Political activism and career in government

Group_at_the_Bacardi_Club_with_Pappy_Valentine

Acosta was a member of the Minorista Group, one of the most influential group of revolutionary artists in Cuba, alongside his close friend

Rubén Martínez Villena Rubén Agnelio Martínez Villena (December 20, 1899 – January 16, 1934) was a Cuban people, Cuban writer, lawyer, and Cuban Revolution, revolutionary leader. He was the ringleader of the Protest of the Thirteen, the first protest of the Cuban in ...

. Other members of the Minoristas included;

Alejo Carpentier Alejo Carpentier y Valmont (, ; December 26, 1904 – April 24, 1980) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, of French ...

Juan Marinello Juan Marinello Vidaurreta (2 November 1898 – 27 March 1977) was a Cuban Communist intellectual, writer, poet essayist, lawyer and politician. He was one of the most prominent Cuban intellectual figures of the interwar period and post revolutiona ...

, Alberto Lamar,

José Zacarías Tallet José Zacarías Tallet (18 October 1893 – 21 December 1989) was a Cuban writer. He was born in Matanzas and died in Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port ...

and

Emilio Roig de Leuchsenring Emilio Roig de Leuchsenring was a prominent Cubans, Cuban journalist whose work occupied the first half of the twentieth century, prior to the Cuban Revolution. He was also a historian, who has published over one hundred books on history. He creat ...

. Another prominent member of the Minoristas was Conrado Walter Massaguer, the owner of the magazines ''Social'' and ''Carteles.'' Many of the contributors to ''Social'' were Minoristas. was active politically and spent long stretches in prison during the regime of

Gerardo Machado Gerardo Machado y Morales (28 September 1869 – 29 March 1939) was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933. Machado was elected president in 1924 as the leader of the Liberal Party, a moderate reform ...

. In 1931, he published an open letter against Machado in

Revista Bohemia Bohemia Magazine (''Revista Bohemia''), is a Spanish language illustrated magazine based in Havana, Havana, Cuba, that was founded in 1908. It is the oldest general consumer magazine in Cuba, and the oldest magazine in all of Latin America. It pr ...

, which sent him to prison for three weeks. With the success of the Cuban Revolution of 1933, Machado was overthrown and Acosta was no longer classified as an enemy of the state. From 1933 to 1934, Acosta served as the Provisional Governor of Matanzas. During the Presidential administration of Carlos Mendieta, Acosta served as his

cabinet secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

. From 1936 to 1944, Acosta served as a Senator of the Republic of Cuba. From 1936 to 1937, he was the president of the Cuban political party, the

Partido Unión Nacionalista Partido, partidista and partidario may refer to: * Spanish for a political party, people who share political ideology or who are brought together by common issues Territorial subdivision * Partidos of Buenos Aires, the second-level administrative ...

Career as a poet

In 1913, 1914 and 1915, Acosta obtained "Natural Flowers" in the

Floral Games Floral Games were any of a series of historically related poetry contests with floral prizes. In Occitan, their original language, and Catalan they are known as (, ; modern or ). In French, they became the (), and in Basque (). The origina ...

held in

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

and

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Regino Boti and José Manuel Poveda he is one of the representatives of the lyrical renaissance that took place in Cuba before the 1920's. As a poet, his writing was marked by nationalist ideals pitted against US hegemony over the island. He was a member of the extinct National Academy of Arts and Letters. He wrote regularly for Cuban publications including; * ''

El Fígaro El Fígaro was a Cuban magazine published in Havana from 1885 to 1929, with irregular publications continuing until 1933. It began as a sports magazine, but evolved into a more general interest consumer magazine and became "the driving force of t ...

'' * '' El Cubano Libre'' * ''

Social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

'' * '' Carteles'' * ''Letras'' * ''Orto'' * ''

Diario de la Marina ''Diario de la Marina'' was a newspaper published in Cuba, founded by Don Araujo de Lira in 1839. ''Diario de la Marina'' was Cuba’s longest-running newspaper. Its roots went back to 1813 with ''El Lucero de la Habana'' (The Havana Star) and ...

'' * ''Las Antilas'' * ''Ariel'' * ''Archipiélago''

Published works

* ''La Zafra'' (1926) * ''Los camellos distantes'' (1936) * ''Las islas desoladas'' (1943) * ''Caminos de hierro'' (1963) * ''El apóstol y su isla: poemas cubanos'', (1965) * ''Trigo de luna'' (1978) * ''Poemas escogidos'' (1988) * ''Última poesía (''2005) Some of his popular poems like "Las carretas en la noche" ("Carts in the Night") and "Mediodia en el Campo" ("Midday in the Country") appeared in ''La Zafra''. He also wrote a number of essays on

Jose Marti Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean * Jose ben Hala ...

Cuban Revolution and later life

After the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

, he was quickly ostracized by the communist government. In 1961, only a year after

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

took power, Acosta was replaced as the National Poet by

Nicolás Guillén Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista (10 July 1902 – 16 July 1989) was a Cuban poet, journalist and political activist. He is best remembered as the national poet of Cuba.

. Most of the magazines that Acosta had been published in were shuttered by the communist government, and

Miguel Ángel Quevedo Miguel Ángel Quevedo y de la Lastra (July 31, 1908 – August 12, 1969) was the publisher and editor of ''Revista Bohemia, Bohemia'', the most popular news-weekly in Cuba and the oldest Latin America, known for its political journalism and edit ...

, the director of Bohemia – where Acosta had condemned Machado – was forced out and replaced by the Fidel hardliner

Enrique de la Osa Enrique de la Osa (Delahoza) y Perdomo was a Cubans, Cuban Communist revolutionary activist, journalist, editor, and News magazine, newsmagazine publisher. He is one of the primary figures in the history of journalism in Cuba. In 1928, he created ...

. Acosta felt betrayed by Nicolás Guillén, as the two had once been friends from the same town. Guillén had once been enraptured by Acosta's poems, and the two men had at one time hosted poetry competitions together. The new government also shut down the poetry readings and competitions that Acosta was involved with. However, Acosta was already 73 years old in 1960, and considered too old to pose a threat to the Castro regime. His foster daughter Sara was evacuated from Cuba in

Operation Peter Pan Operation Peter Pan (or Operación Pedro Pan) was a clandestine exodus of over 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban minors ages 6 to 18 to the United States over a two-year span from 1960 to 1962. They were sent by parents who feared, on the basis of unsu ...

. He lived quietly for nine more years in Cuba. Acosta only published a single work of poetry after the Cuban Revolution, ''Caminos de hierro (Roads of Iron)'', in 1963. On May 17, 1971, when Acosta was 85 years old, he wrote to Guillén to ask him to intercede and help him leave Cuba:

"I am going to be 85 years old and I am ill (I am writing to you in bed and my wife is typing these words). I do not know, of course, how long I have left on earth. My eyesight is getting worse every day and this has me very worried. Perhaps if the trip takes place I will look for an
oculist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...
to prevent the advance of the disorders that almost always prevent me from reading and writing. I have arthrosis in my knees that prevents me from walking, she has the flu. The two of us are alone in bed and sick. We cannot go out to look for medicines and food, and we do not have anyone to help us because our relatives are far away and the private individuals either do not know our condition or, selfishly, want to ignore it. As you see, dear poet, the paintings are Goyaesque… You will decide whether or not we have reasons to want to be with our little daughter even if it were at the end of the world."

Guillén's response included:

"Perhaps I am not in the mood for this to happen, Agustín. I do not believe that at your age the hustle and bustle of a trip like the one you are planning is advisable."

Acosta was able to leave Cuba in 1972, and went into exile in the United States. He continued to publish poetry for the rest of his life. Acosta's grandson, Nansen H. Tapanes, wrote in 2023:

"Here we cannot help but remember that phrase from that other eternal exile,
José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; 28 January 1853 – 19 May 1895) was a Cuban nationalism, nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in ...
: “And I will go through the world bleeding, but free." Was Agustín really free in his Miami exile? I do not know. From what my father told me many years later, facts belonging to the family and personal novel of the poet, I really come to doubt it."

He died in Miami in 1979.Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Latin American and Caribbean Literature, 1900–2003https://atom.library.miami.edu/acosta-agustin-1886-1979

External links

* University of Miami archived works: https://atom.library.miami.edu/chc5283

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acosta, Agustin 1886 births 1979 deaths 20th-century Cuban poets 20th-century Cuban politicians People from Matanzas