|
|
|
|
|
Jos Gautier BentezJos Gautier Bentez (April 12, 1848 – January 24, 1880) was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico. He is considered Puerto Rico's best poet of the Romanticism Era. His parents were Rodulfo Gautier and the well known Puerto Rican poet, Alejandrina Benitez de Gautier. His great-aunt was the poetist Maria Bibiana Benitez. Therefore, it was only natural for Bentez to be in constant contact with the world of literature and to develop a love for poetry at an early age. He was mostly influenced by the exponents of the Romantic poetry of the 19th century. Bentez's father wanted him to take up a military career. In 1865, he was sent to a cadets school in San Juan, Puerto Rico. When he graduated, he went to Madrid, Spain where he continued his military education. When Bentez returned to Puerto Rico from Spain, he found a job in the provincial government office. In 1873 he joined the Liberal Reformist Party. Bentez became a principal force behind the creation of the Ateneo Puertorriqueo. In 1878 he became the co-founder, along with his friend Manuel de Elzabura, of the Puerto Rican Review. In 1878, he wrote the poem A Puerto Rico (To Puerto Rico), which was highly acclaimed by his contemporaries as one of his greatest works. A Puerto Rico also received an award from the Ateneo. In 1879, Bentez's mother, Alejandrina, died and he also became terminally ill with tuberculosis. He then retired to his house where he would live until his last days. Jos Gautier Bentez died in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at 31 years of age. He was buried in the National Cemetery in San Juan. Even though he wrote less than a hundred poems, his works were considered better in quality than the works of other Puerto Rican lyricists of the time. Benitez's verses, titled Poemas (Poems) were published posthumously in 1880. Among his works are: A Puerto Rico, Ausencia (To Puerto Rico, in Absenteeism), and A Puerto Rico, Regreso (To Puerto Rico, I've Returned). Puerto Rico has named avenues and schools after Bentez. In the city of Caguas there is a high school and a housing project named after Bentez. The Municipal Island of Vieques honored Bentez by naming its public library the Jos Gautier Bentez Public Library. The sculptor Toms Batista created a monument of Bentez which can be seen in Caguas. Bentez, Jos Gautier Bentez, Jos Gautier
|
 |
|
| Copyright 2005-2009 OnPedia.com. All Rights Reserved |
|
|