José Martín Antonio Gautier Benítez (April 12, 1848 – January 24, 1880) was a Puerto Rican

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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

of the

Romantic Era Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

Early years

Gautier Benítez was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico to Rodulfo Gautier and the Puerto Rican poet, Alejandrina Benitez de Gautier. His great-aunt, María Bibiana Benítez, was also a well known Puerto Rican poet. He was mostly influenced by the exponents of the Romantic poetry of the 19th century. His great-great-uncle was José Benítez, mayor of Ponce in 1800. Gautier Benítez's father wanted him to take up a military career and so in 1865, he was sent to military school in San Juan. When he graduated, he went to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Spain, where he continued his military education. When Gautier Benítez returned to Puerto Rico from Spain, he found a job in the provincial government office. According to his military records, between September 26 and November 8 of 1868, Gautier Benítez fought against the members of the "Revolution Committee of Puerto Rico" involved in " El Grito de Lares", a short lived independence revolt against Spanish rule in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. In 1873 he joined the Liberal Reformist Party and became a principal force behind the creation of the '' Ateneo Puertorriqueño''. In 1878 he became the co-founder, along with his friend Manuel de Elzabura, of the ''Puerto Rican Review''. That same year he wrote his first poem ''A Puerto Rico'' (To Puerto Rico), was highly acclaimed by his contemporaries as one of his greatest works. ''A Puerto Rico'' also received an award from the ''Ateneo''.

Later years

In 1879, Gautier Benítez's mother, Alejandrina, died and he also became terminally ill with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. He retired to his house where he would live until he died. Gautier Benítez died in San Juan, aged 32 years of age and is laid to rest in Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery in

Old San Juan Old San Juan () is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the San Juan Islet, islet of San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Old San Juan, Ballajá, Catedral, Old San Juan, ...

. Gautier Benítez's verses, entitled ''Poemas'' (Poems) were published posthumously in 1880.

Poems by Gautier Benítez

Among his works are: ''A Puerto Rico (Ausencia)'' (To Puerto Rico (Absence)), ''A Puerto Rico (Regreso)'' (To Puerto Rico (Return)) and the following:. *Americana *Como Tu Quieras *Deber De Amar *El Manzanillo *El Poeta *Ella y Yo *Enfermo *INSOMNIO *La Barca *La Nave *Las Aves De Paso *Los Ojos De T. *Oriental *Romance *Un Encargo A Mis Amigos *Un Sueño *Zoraida

Legacy and honors

The city of Caguas named a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

and

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

project after Gautier Benítez. The

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

–

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Vieques honored him by naming its

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

the ''José Gautier Benítez Public Library''. In the municipality of Hatillo an

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

was named after him. The song " Lamento Borincano", from Rafael Hernández mentions Gautier Benítez in it "Borinquen, la tierra del edén. La que al cantar, el gran Gautier llamó la perla de los mares." In 2019 construction began on the José Gautier Benítez Development, a mixed-income residential area in Caguas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gautier Benitez, Jose 1851 births 1880 deaths Puerto Rican writers Puerto Rican male writers People from Caguas, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican people of French descent Tuberculosis deaths in Puerto Rico 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Puerto Rican Army personnel 19th-century American poets American male poets 19th-century American male writers Benítez family 19th-century Puerto Rican poets

Early years

Later years

Poems by Gautier Benítez

Legacy and honors

See also

References