Idelfonso Estrada Zenea

Writer, poet and patriot

Son of don José Roustán de Estrada and of doña María Zenea, direct descendant of the wealthy Mariel landowners Roustán de Estrada, Marquis of Toro, Luque and Rocamoure who owned much of the Mariel plateau, related to other landowners such as the Peñalver, Mantilla de los Ríos, Pedroso, etc.

His literary faculties in which he distinguished himself so greatly, seem to proceed from his maternal line since he was cousin of another great Cuban poet, Juan Clemente Zenea.

He had been born in Havana in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, but resided most of the year in Mariel in his house on Calle Real No. 25. In that town he founded the newspaper "El Alba del Mariel" and his journalistic spirit was demonstrated by founding magazines in all the places where he resided, collaborating moreover in many others. He was one of the first in Mariel to fight colonialism, propagating ideas of freedom.

Among the newspapers founded were, in addition to "El Alba del Mariel", "El Colibrí" in 1847, "Periquito" in Matanzas, "El Iris" and "La Primavera" in Mexico, "El Federalista" (1876); he collaborated in "La Habana", "La Aurora" and "El Liceo".

He wrote poems, romances, comedies, etc., among others in 1854 "El Grito de la Inocencia", in 1868 the romance "El Guajiro", which develops in Mariel and which begins with these verses:
Through the spacious savanna they call Santo Cristo...
His work "El Guajiro" was awarded a silver medal; in 1876 he wrote his drama "Luisa Sigea" and many poems and pamphlets.

While in Mexico, where he was a professor, he wrote "Bibliography and Military Archive" (1870), "Map of the Classification of Human Knowledge" and "The Encyclopedic Boxes for Objective Teaching" and his drama "The Lady of Toledo", his "Ode to Quintana" and other works that were awarded prizes at the Atheneum of Matanzas.

He was prosecuted for writing in newspapers defending Cuban independence such as: "El Almendares" and "La Voz del Pueblo Cubano", the latter newspaper which was published in Havana and whose first issue had appeared on June 13, 1852.

He was prosecutor in the trial of Lieutenant Colonel of Cavalry Pedro Pablo Cruces, accusing Estrada and Zenea and others as authors and accomplices in the printing and publication of the subversive newspaper titled "La Voz del Pueblo Cubano". In addition to living in Cuba and Mexico, he also resided in Spain where he wrote many of his works and collaborated in numerous newspapers.

He was in Mariel Secretary of the Circle of Instruction and Recreation "Santa Teresa" (1887). He also compiled and published all the data, minutes, courses, etc., concerning the donation by the Balsinde family of a School for Boys.

He owned many properties in Mariel that were collected by the man who later became Mayor, Mr. Guillermo Arias.

For his love of Mariel and his struggles for the freedom of Cuba, a great poet, journalist and patriot deserves to be known and not forgotten.

He studied for a Bachelor of Arts. In 1848 he made a brief trip to Spain. Upon returning he was tried in a military council for being believed an accomplice of Facciolo and Bellido de Luna in the printing of La Voz del Pueblo Cubano. He resided between 1858 and 1867 in Matanzas, where he held the position of vocal secretary of the Commission of Primary Instruction (1863). In 1861 he was awarded, with a silver medal bestowed by Avellaneda at El Liceo de La Habana, his romance of Cuban customs El Guajiro. He also belonged to the Liceo de Matanzas. He settled in Havana in 1868 and emigrated to Mexico during the Ten Years' War due to his revolutionary sentiments. He remained in Mexico from 1869 to 1878.

In Campeche he directed the school "El Porvenir". He founded the army schools and was nominated honorary member of the Mexican Society of Geography and Statistics.

He returned to Cuba in 1878 and introduced kindergartens (1880). From 1900 onwards he worked in Mexico City until his death. He edited El Colibrí (1847) with Andrés Poey. He was founding member of El Almendares (1852), El Periquito—for children—, El Iris (Yucatán, Mexico, 1868), La Primera (Mexico City). He directed El Alba (Mariel, Cuba, 1887) and collaborated in La Prensa, Revista de La Habana. He wrote pamphlets on various non-literary subjects. He signed as Ildefonso Zenea, I.E.Z., I de E y Z., D. I... E... y Z..., Estrada y Estrada and Zenea and Ildefonso, and used the pseudonym Pablo de la Luz.



Awards and Distinctions:
In 1861 he was awarded, with a silver medal bestowed by Avellaneda at El Liceo de La Habana, for his romance of Cuban customs El Guajiro.

Active Bibliography:
Clock of the Havana Women (notebook of original verses), Havana, 1847.
Catechism of the Faith, put into verse by I.E.Z, Madrid, 1849.
Memories and Hopes (poetic composition), Havana, 1850.
The Cry of Innocence, Havana, 1854.
To Charity (moral ode awarded with silver flower and title of merit member, in the Floral Games celebrated at the Lyceum on the night of November 4, 1867), Matanzas, 1867; 2nd ed. Mexico, 1905.
Dictionary of Children, Mexico, 1869; 2nd ed, Matanzas, 1879.
Yucatán (historical and geographical romance, dedicated to Yucatecan youth), Mexico, 1870. /Columbus. Soliloquy, Mexico, 1871, Havana, 1892, Mexico, 1905. The Heroic City of Veracruz (description of its most notable buildings, with historical information about their origin and founding), Mexico, 1874.
Guide to the Encyclopedic Map Entitled (Panorama of Sciences, Letters and Arts), Mexico, 1875.
Memorandum of Ildefonso Estrada y Zenea (autobiography), Mexico, 1876.
Chapultepec, Mexico, 1877.
Luisa Sigea (The Minerva of Toledo) (original historical drama in three acts and in verse), Matanzas, 1878; 2nd ed., Mexico, 1905.
Manual of Governors and Political Chiefs, Mexico, 1878.
The Carriage. Cuban Customs and Scenes of Other Times, Havana, 1880.
The Book of Charades, Havana, 1883.
Easter Bouquet. Gift to Ladies (prose and verse), Havana, 1884.
Opinion of the Periodic Press Regarding the Development of Mariel Port, Havana, 1886.
Poetics Within Everyone's Reach, Havana, 1889.
Alert to Husbands (observations and thoughts about marriage, love and woman by a master in the art that Ovid taught), Matanzas, 1890.
Moral Autobiography in Verse, Matanzas, 1890.
Memories of Galicia. Notes from my trip to the Peninsula, Havana, 1893.
Glorious Dates (Prose and verse), Mexico, 1900.
Juárez! (monologue), Mexico, 1903, 1906.
Historical Part of the Service Record of Professor I. Estrada y Zenea, Bachelor of Arts, Mexico, 1903.
The Theft of the Flag (dialogue), Mexico, 1903, 2nd ed. Mexico, 1906.
My Work. Notes for the History of the Island of Cuba and Especially for the City of Matanzas, Mexico, 1904.
Literary Criticism. A Poet. Parallel between the ode "The Fifth of May" by Manuel M. Flores (Mexican) and some compositions by the most famous Spanish and American poets, 2nd ed. Mexico, 1905.
Geography of the Mexican Republic, Mexico, 1905.
History of the Gothic Monarchy in Spain (in verse), Mexico, 1906.
The Victims of Love. Analysis of the Song of Manuel Acuña to Rosario, Mexico, 1906.