NEWSPAPERS AND CULTURAL PUBLICATIONS IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA AND LITERARY CRITICISM BETWEEN 1825 AND 1869

FOUNDATIONAL PERIODS

Abstract

The literary criticism published in newspapers and cultural publications in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, in the 19th century has been little analyzed in research related to literary criticism in that country. The aim of this study is present the initial stages of the evolution of criticism in this city, with an emphasis on characterizing the main newspapers and cultural publications in which it was divulged and a selection of some of the most important authors, themes and texts registered between 1825 and 1869, in order to specify its evolutionary process. Documental review was used to read, process and chronologically order the bibliographic corpus (El Redactor, Semanario Cubano, La Revista Cubana, Murmurios del Cauto, among others) and content analysis from a hermeneutic perspective. The conclusion is that it’s possible to observe two initial periods, of proto-criticism and other of consolidation, according to the quantitative evolution of the periodicals and the literary criticism texts recovered. The first is characterized by the critical output of Manuel María Pérez y Ramírez, with neoclassical roots, who was attentive to the city's cultural scene. The second is marked by the profusion of literary critical texts published by El Redactor, which cover diverse topics such as authors and works of local, national and european literature, approached by local and foreign critics. They also reveal an interest in tackling the literary issues of the time, such as the controversies surrounding the restoration of good taste and reflections on the existence or not of a properly cuban creole literature.