Camila Henríquez Ureña

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Henríquez and the second or maternal family name is Ureña.

Camila Henríquez Ureña (April 9, 1894 in Santo Domingo – September 12, 1973 in Santo Domingo), was a writer, essayist, educator and literary critic from the Dominican Republic who became a naturalized Cuban citizen.[1] She descended from a family of writers, thinkers and educators; both her parents, Francisco Henríquez y Carvajal and Salomé Ureña, as well as her brothers Pedro and , were literary luminaries.[2][3] Her essays have been published in Instrucción Pública, Ultra, Archipiélago (founded by her brother, Max),[4] Casa de las Américas, , Revista de la Biblioteca Nacional, Revista de la Universidad de La Habana, and Revista Lyceum. A feminist and a humanist,[5] she lectured during much of her career, advocating intellectual study for women.[1]

Early life and family[]

Henríquez was born in Santo Domingo in 1894. She was the fourth child and only daughter of prominent intellectuals, the former Dominican President, Francisco Henríquez y Carvajal, and the poet and educator, Salomé Ureña. Her mother died in 1898 when Henríquez was four; her brother, Pedro, served as a mentor and instilled in his sister the legacy of their mother. She had two other brothers, Francisco and Max. Her father, Francisco Henríquez y Carvajal, was also a former President of the Dominican Republic.[6]

In 1904, Henríquez moved with her father and stepmother, Natividad Lauranson, to Cuba. She attended the elementary school, Model School in Santiago de Cuba, and received her bachelor's degree from the . She received her Ph.D. in Philosophy and Letters from the University of Havana (1917)[1] with the thesis, "Francisco de Rioja: su verdadera significación en la lírica española" ("Francisco de Rioja: his true significance in Spanish lyric poetry").[6] At the same university, she became a Doctor in Pedagogy; her dissertation, "The pedagogical ideas of Eugenio María de Hostos", centered on the Puerto Rican educator who was a mentor to Henríquez's mother. Henríquez studied and worked at the University of Minnesota from 1918 to 1921, obtaining a Masters of Arts in 1920.[6] In 1922, she returned to Cuba, becoming a Cuban citizen four years later. In the mid 1920s, she was a professor at Academia Herbart, as well as the Escuela Normal de Maestros and at the Instituto de Matanzas.[7]

Career[]

Henríquez continued her studies from 1932 to 1934 at the Sorbonne.[3][8] In 1930s Cuba, she participated in the events of various feminist organizations and cultural institutions. At Havana's Lyceum, she served as its president,[8] and director of its magazine.[6] She was the vice-president of the Unión Nacional de Mujeres (Women's National Union) (1936),[6] and a collaborator at the . Henríquez led the organization efforts of Cuba's Third National Congress of Women, held in 1939, and in the same year, was the opening speaker at Havana's First National Feminine Congress.[6] In 1941, she lectured in Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Mexico, and served as a delegate to the Conference General Federation of University Women.[6]

From 1942 through 1959, Henríquez lived in the United States, teaching at Vassar College, Middlebury College, and Kentucky's Centre College.[6] During her 1948 sabbatical year, Henríquez traveled to Mexico where she was an editor at Fondo de Cultura Económica,[1] while through the 1950s, she traveled to Spain, Italy, and France.[3][8] Believing in the ideals of the Cuban Revolution, Henríquez returned to Cuba in 1959. She served as technical adviser to the Ministry of Education (1960-1962),[1] and participated in the restructuring of the University of Havana, where she taught until her retirement in 1970.[3][8] Before her death in 1973, she had affiliated with the Cuban Pen Club (vice-president), and the National Cuban Commission of UNESCO (member).[6]

Selected works[]

  • "Ideas pedagógicas de Eugenio María de Hostos" (1932)
  • "Curso de apreciación literaria" (1935)
  • "La Poesía en Cuba en 1936" (anthology with Juan Ramón Jiménez and José María Chacón y Calvo (1936)
  • "Feminismo" (1939)
  • "La mujer y la cultura" (1949)
  • "La carta como forma de expresión literaria femenina" (1951)
  • "Cervantes" (1963)
  • "El Renacimiento español" (1963)
  • "Cantares de gesta" (1971)
  • "William Shakespeare" (1972)
  • "Dante Alighieri" (1974; posthumous publication)

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Camila Henríquez Ureña". Ministerio de Educación Santo Domingo República Dominicana. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  2. ^ Balderston, Daniel; Gonzalez, Mike; Lopez, Ana M. (11 September 2002). Encyclopaedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cultures. Routledge. pp. 717–. ISBN 978-1-134-78852-1.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "2nd International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Dominican Studies". Hostos Community College. May 1, 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  4. ^ Nadel, Joshua Henry (2007). Processing Modernity: Social and Cultural Adaptation in Eastern Cuba, 1902--1933. ProQuest. pp. 24–. ISBN 978-0-549-29351-4.
  5. ^ Yanez, Mirta (2003). "Camila y Camila" (PDF). Centro Cultural Pablo de la Torriente Brau. pp. 66, 123, 138. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i "Camila Henríquez Ureña". Encyclopedia of Caribbean history and culture. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  7. ^ Ferrer Carbonell, Oscar (6 February 2012). "Los Henríquez Ureña y Cuba" (in Spanish). Periodico Cubarte. Archived from the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Ruiz, Vicki L.; Korrol, Virginia Sánchez (3 May 2006). Latinas in the United States, set: A Historical Encyclopedia. Indiana University Press. pp. 315–. ISBN 0-253-11169-2.
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