Julia Pérez Montes de Oca

Cuban writer who distinguished herself through the serenity of her poetry. She belonged to the Romantic movement.

She was born at the "Melgarejo" estate, El Cobre, Oriente, in 1839. Sister of Luisa Pérez de Zambrana. She lived several years in her birthplace. In 1858 she moved to Havana with her sister when the latter married Ramón Zambrana.

While still very young she collaborated in «El Redactor», of Santiago de Cuba. She collaborated in El Kaleidoscopio (1859) and in Álbum cubano de lo bueno y lo bello (1860), where three poems were published that were not included in the edition of her poetry. The Count of Pozos Dulces published her poems in «El Siglo». In La Moda Ilustrada, of Cádiz, her poems also appeared. In 1863 her poetry was read at the Liceo de Guanabacoa.

She holds special significance within Romanticism as she pursued the best of traditions. According to Cintio Vitier, the poem "La tarde" achieves "a radiant serenity":

Oh! how the senses it soothes
and fills the heart with sweet enchantment
this vague murmur! There where grows
the silent pine,
suspends the nightingale its tearful song
while arrives the mysterious night,
and stretches its wing soft and stealthy
toward the neighboring forest
where the nightingale and the trill are lost...

She frequented the gatherings of Nicolás Azcárate and took part in some of his theatrical performances as an actress. One of her roles she performed in the dramatic proverb «Antes que te cases mira lo que haces», by Navarrete and Romay. She was fond of Astronomy and cultivated painting.

She died in Artemisa, Pinar del Río, on September 25, 1875.

Works
Much of her poetry is collected in «Poesías». Barcelona, Gorgas, 1875. Complete Poetry. Havana, P. Fernández, 1957.

Passive Bibliography
Araña, Bertoldo, pseud. of José Fornaris. «Julia Pérez de Montes de Oca», in Camafeos. Havana, ent. 18 :136-138, 1865.
Carbonell y Rivero, José Manuel. «Julia Pérez y Montes de Oca (1839-1875), in his Lyric Poetry in Cuba. Compilation directed, with prologue and notes by [...]. Vol. 3. Havana, Imp. El Siglo XX, 1928. p. 402-403 (Evolution of Cuban Culture. 1608-1927, 3).
Feijóo, Samuel. «Jewel of the countryside», in his Chance Readings. Criticism. Havana. Central University of Las Villas, 1961, p. 52-56.
Lezama Lima, José. «Julia Pérez y Montes de Oca», in his Anthology of Cuban Poetry. Vol. 2. Havana, National Council of Culture, 1965, p. 208-209.
Vitier, Cintio. The Cuban in Poetry. Havana, Central University of Las Villas, 1958, p. 215-222.
Zambrana, Ramón. Soliloquies. Havana, Imp. La Intrépida, 1865, p. 103-104. Zambrana de Fernández, Malleen. «Concerning the Poetry of Julia Pérez Montes de Oca», in Collection Los Zambrana. Vol. 14. Havana, Imp. P. Fernández, 1958, p. 111-114.