Bartolomé Crespo Borbón

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Costumbrista writer and playwright. Important figure in the background of Cuban bufo theater and creator of the only literary character who writes in bozal in Cuban letters.

Bartolomé José Crespo Borbón was born in Ferrol, a region of A Coruña, Galicia. In 1821 he arrived in La Habana. He entered the Colegio de Carraguao, where he was a student of José de la Luz y Caballero. He graduated with a degree in the Colegio Seminario de San Carlos.

He began studies in Medicine at the Real y Pontificia Universidad de La Habana but did not complete them.

In 1826 he began his literary career. He collaborated in El Nuevo Regañón de La Habana, El Plantel, La Gaceta, La Prensa, El Faro Industrial, Diario de la Marina where he used to employ pseudonyms such as El Anfibio, El Lindoro, La Sirena Cubana, La Cotorra-gente. One of them, that of Creto Gangá, brought him particular renown, for under this identity Borbón constructed the character of a poor Black man, formerly enslaved, who wrote articles and costumbrista satires in bozal, a mode of expression of the Spanish language used by African Blacks that has been considered among the most interesting Creole dialects of the continent.

With this the writer contributed another vision to Cuban costumbrista literature, in this case the social perspective of a humble Black man, although his production failed to transcend colonial ideology.

By the hand of Creto, other Black men in bozal broke into his theater, particularly in the piece Un ajiaco o La boda de Pancha Jutía y Canuto Raspadura; all contributed to prefigure the traits of the "Negrito" of the Background of Cuban bufo theater to come.

He wrote short poems, ballads, sonnets. Also successful guarachas for the stage. With great wit he painted various character types and recreated comic situations.