BBs2e4 February 12, 2026
Julia de Burgos was a Puerto Rican poet whose work engages themes of feminism and social justice. Since her death, she has been widely recognized as the contemporary foremother of Puerto Rico and of the Nuyorican poetry movement in New York. In her work, Burgos asserted her African lineage, advocating for anti-imperialism and Puerto Rican national identity and independence. A translation of her work into English by Jack Agüeros, titled Song of the Simple Truth: The Complete Poems of Julia de Burgos, was published in a bilingual edition (Northwestern University Press, 1995).
The eldest of 13 children, Julia Constanza Burgos García was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico and grew up in the barrio of Santa Cruz. She taught at a school in the Barrio Cedro Arriba in Naranjito before moving to New York in 1940. She also lived briefly in Cuba, where she studied at the University of Havana. Returning to New York after two years in Cuba, Burgos served as the art and culture editor for the progressive newspaper Pueblos Hispanos.
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