This April 17 marks the 75th anniversary of the death of Ramón Guirao, a pioneering poet who remains largely unknown to most Cubans today. When discussing black poetry in Cuba, many think of Nicolás Guillén as the initiator of this literary movement, but it is Ramón Guirao who deserves that credit.
Despite being the son of Spanish immigrants, Guirao affirmed his Cuban identity early on. At just twenty years old, he published his poem “La bailadora de rumba” in the literary supplement of Diario de la Marina, the first Cuban poem on a black theme, earning him a significant place in our cultural history.
Among all the arts, music has always played a fundamental role in shaping Cuban identity. One genre, the rumba, emerged in the 19th century and was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in November 2016. Characterized by rhythmic patterns where dancers move their hips and pelvis frenetically to percussion instruments, the sensual dance of rumba captured Guirao’s poetic imagination.
“Bailadora de guaguancó,
piel negra,
tersura de bongó.
Agita la maraca de su risa
con los dedos de leche de sus dientes.
Pañuelo blanco
–seda–,
bata blanca
–almidón–,
recorren el trayecto
de una cuerda
en un ritmo afrocubano
de guitarra
clave
y cajón
“¡Arriba, María Antonia,
alabado sea Dio!”.
Las serpientes de sus brazos
van soltando las cuentas
de un collar de jabón”.
But Guirao’s poem is not just historically important for incorporating black elements into his poetry; it also established a new aesthetic standard in Cuban literature, contrasting with the prevailing Caucasian beauty ideals. This led to the cultivation of black poetry, also known as “poesía negrista,” by other renowned Cuban poets such as José Zacarías Tallet, Nicolás Guillén, Regino E. Boti, and Emilio Ballagas.
Significantly, this poetic movement emerged alongside the spread of another pillar of Cuban musical culture: the son. While this genre resonated in the poetry of Nicolás Guillén, Guirao’s and Zacarías Tallet’s poems, inspired by rumba, marked the birth of the movement.
Guirao, despite his premature death at 41 in 1949, left an indelible mark on Cuban culture. His intellectual contributions were recognized by figures like Gastón Baquero, Roberto Fernández Retamar, Enrique Labrador Ruíz, Raúl Roa, and Cintio Vitier. As an author of deeply Cuban décimas and a passionate scholar of Afro-Cuban culture, Guirao’s legacy remains vital in Cuban literary history.
Roberto Jesús Quiñones Haces