Mirror of patience
"Mirror of patience" (Spanish: Espejo de paciencia) is an epic poem written in 1608 by Silvestre de Balboa.[1] It is considered the first literature piece written in Cuba. It was occult until the year 1838 when was published in El Plantel, a nineteenth-century magazine. Before, the writer José Antonio Echevarría found it between the shelves of the library of the "Society of Friends of the Country".
Author | Silvestre de Balboa |
---|---|
Country | Cuba |
Language | Spanish |
Genre | Epic poem |
Publication date | 1838 |
Pages | 40 pages |
The poem is about a true story that occurred in the port of Manzanillo in 1604, when the bishop of the Island of Cuba, Don Juan de las Cabezas Altamirano, in a travel to visit the farms in Yara, was kidnapped by the French corsair Gilberto Girón, with the intent to make the town pay a huge ransom. Then a group of neighbors from Bayamo prepare to fight against the corsairs. In combat, a black slave named Golomón defeats Gilberto Girón and cuts off his head. The bishop is rescued and the people celebrate.
References
- The Rise of Spanish American Poetry 1500-1700: Literary and Cultural Transmission in the New World. Vol. 22. Modern Humanities Research Association. 2019. ISBN 978-1-78188-706-6.