María Teresa Babín Cortés
Encyclopedia
María Teresa Babín Cortés (May 30, 1910- December 19, 1989) was a Puerto Rican
educator, literary critic, and essayist. She also wrote poetry
and plays. Among her best-known works is Panorama de la Cultura Puertorriqueña and several essays on Federico García Lorca
.
on May 30, 1910, daughter to Emmanuel Babín Satgé, from Guadeloupe
and Joaquina Cortés Marrero, of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
. Her first years were spent learning French from her father. She also experienced numerous moves, as her father was a chemist who worked at various of the sugar cane mills of Puerto Rico.
. She was the Valedictorian
of her graduating class. She graduated in 1931 from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, with a B.A. in Education, and a concentration in Spanish. She earned a Masters in 1939. The title of her Master’s research was "Federico García Lorca y su vida". She taught Spanish and French at the Coamo, Isabela
, and San Juan (Central) high schools. In 1951, she earned a Ph.D.
from Columbia University
in New York City. The title of her thesis was "El mundo poético de Federico García Lorca". It was published in 1954.
and at Garden City
High School in Long Island
. She was also a university professor at the Department of Romance Languages in Hunter College
of New York (1946–51), Associate Professor of Language and Literature at Washington Square College
in New York. She also tutored Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
in her learning of the French language. She was also “Cultural Aide” to Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller in New York.
, involved in their minority students scholarships program (1969–73). She is also a member in the Cultural Board of the City of New York. She is invited by Lehman College
of the City University of New York
to implement a program on Puerto Rican Studies. She was a professor as well as founder, and director of the Department of Puerto Rican Studies at Lehman. She was also a professor in the doctoral program of CUNY School of Graduate Studies, and dean of the CUNY Graduate School. At this point she retired from full-time active work force.
and the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras (1983–85). After the death of her mother and husband, she retired from active duty. Maria Teresa died on December 19, 1989.
In the World of poetry, she produced:
She also produced numerous critical reviews of Miguel Meléndez Muñoz, Fernando Sierra Berdecía, Manuel Méndez Ballester
, René Marqués
, Emilio S. Belaval, Julia de Burgos
, Luis Palés Matos
, Evaristo Ribera Chevremont
, among others.
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
educator, literary critic, and essayist. She also wrote poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and plays. Among her best-known works is Panorama de la Cultura Puertorriqueña and several essays on Federico García Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
.
Early years
Babín Cortés was born in Ponce, Puerto RicoPonce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
on May 30, 1910, daughter to Emmanuel Babín Satgé, from Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
and Joaquina Cortés Marrero, of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
Santa Isabel is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the southern coast, south of Coamo; east of Juana Díaz; and west of Salinas. Santa Isabel is spread over 7 wards and Santa Isabel Pueblo...
. Her first years were spent learning French from her father. She also experienced numerous moves, as her father was a chemist who worked at various of the sugar cane mills of Puerto Rico.
Training
She attended elementary school in Yauco and graduated from Ponce High SchoolPonce High School
The Ponce High School is public educational institution in Ponce, Puerto Rico, offering grades ten through twelve. The school's main building is a historic structure located on Cristina Street, in the Ponce Historic Zone. From its beginning the school has secured a unique place in Puerto Rico's...
. She was the Valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
of her graduating class. She graduated in 1931 from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, with a B.A. in Education, and a concentration in Spanish. She earned a Masters in 1939. The title of her Master’s research was "Federico García Lorca y su vida". She taught Spanish and French at the Coamo, Isabela
Isabela, Puerto Rico
Isabela is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the north-western region of the island, north of San Sebastián; west of Quebradillas; and east of Aguadilla and Moca. Isabela is spread over 13 wards and Isabela Pueblo...
, and San Juan (Central) high schools. In 1951, she earned a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City. The title of her thesis was "El mundo poético de Federico García Lorca". It was published in 1954.
Puerto Rico
From 1935 to 1937, she was director of the Comité de Producción de la Escuela del Aire of the Puerto Rico Department of Public Instruction. Upon completing her Masters, she was named Director of the Department of Spanish at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, where she performed from 1940 to 1945.United States
She was a high school teacher in Easton, PennsylvaniaEaston, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County....
and at Garden City
Garden City, New York
Garden City is a village in the town of Hempstead in central Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It was founded by multi-millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart in 1869, and is located on Long Island, to the east of New York City, from mid-town Manhattan, and just south of the town of...
High School in Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. She was also a university professor at the Department of Romance Languages in Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
of New York (1946–51), Associate Professor of Language and Literature at Washington Square College
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in New York. She also tutored Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
in her learning of the French language. She was also “Cultural Aide” to Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller in New York.
Puerto Rico, again
In 1962, Babín Cortés returned to Puerto Rico. She was named Coordinator of the Special High School program and Director of the Spanish program of the Puerto Rico Department of Public Instruction (1963–1966). The first list of Puerto Rican textbooks was added to the curriculum during her directorship. She then became professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez (1966–69) in the Department of Hispanic Studies. She implemented the Masters program in Hispanic Studies there.United States, again
She returned to New York and works as Special Consultant to the Ford FoundationFord Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
, involved in their minority students scholarships program (1969–73). She is also a member in the Cultural Board of the City of New York. She is invited by Lehman College
Lehman College
Lehman College is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, USA. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, the school became an independent college within the City University in 1968. The college is named after Herbert Lehman, a former New York governor,...
of the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
to implement a program on Puerto Rican Studies. She was a professor as well as founder, and director of the Department of Puerto Rican Studies at Lehman. She was also a professor in the doctoral program of CUNY School of Graduate Studies, and dean of the CUNY Graduate School. At this point she retired from full-time active work force.
Last return to Puerto Rico
She returned to Puerto Rico and takes up a position as professor of Puerto Rican Literature at the Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe (1977–1983) and as visiting professor the San Juan campus of the InterAmerican University of Puerto RicoInteramerican University of Puerto Rico
The Inter American University of Puerto Rico —or Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico in Spanish, and often referred as "Inter"— is a private university system in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1912 in San German, Puerto Rico. The University has campuses in Aguadilla, Arecibo, Barranquitas,...
and the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras (1983–85). After the death of her mother and husband, she retired from active duty. Maria Teresa died on December 19, 1989.
Awards
- Professor emeritus status at Lehman College in 1978.
- Doctor Honoris Causa by The University of Puerto Rico in 1984.
Books written
The following books were written by Babin Cortes:- Introducción a la cultura hispánica (1949)
- Fantasía Boricua (1956)
- Panorama de la cultura puertorriqueña (1958)
- La antología prologada de Francisco Gonzalo Marín (1958)
- Ser y estar de Puerto Rico (1964)
- Jornadas literarias (1967)
- Siluetas literarias (1967)
- La gesta de Puerto Rico (1967)
- La cultura de Puerto Rico (1970)
- The Puerto Rican's Spirit (1971)
- Estudios Lorquianos (1976)
- Federico García Lorca, cincuenta años de Gloria (1986)
- El hilo de Ariadna (n.d.)
In the World of poetry, she produced:
- Las voces de tu voz (1962)
- La barca varada (1982)
- La hora colmada (1960) (theatrical fabule)
She also produced numerous critical reviews of Miguel Meléndez Muñoz, Fernando Sierra Berdecía, Manuel Méndez Ballester
Manuel Méndez Ballester
Manuel Méndez Ballester , born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, was a well-known writer who worked in journalism, radio broadcasting, television and teaching.- Life and career :...
, René Marqués
René Marques
René Marqués was a renowned Puerto Rican short story writer and playwright.-Early years:Marqués was born, raised and educated in the city of Arecibo...
, Emilio S. Belaval, Julia de Burgos
Julia de Burgos
Julia Constancia Burgos García is considered by many as the greatest poet to have been born in Puerto Rico, and along with Gabriela Mistral, is considered as one of the greatest female poets of Latin America...
, Luis Palés Matos
Luis Palés Matos
Luis Palés Matos was a Puerto Rican poet who is credited with creating the poetry genre known as Afro-Antillano.-Early years:...
, Evaristo Ribera Chevremont
Evaristo Ribera Chevremont
Evaristo Ribera Chevremont is considered by many the most lyrical poet from Puerto Rico. Although several of his published books deal with Puerto Rican nationality and regionalism, the majority of his verses are liberated from folkloric subject matter and excel in universal lyricism.-Literary...
, among others.
Legacy
She has been recognized as one of Ponce's greatest writers at the Park for Illustrious Ponce Citizens.See also
- List of Latin American writers
- List of Puerto Rican writers
- List of Famous Puerto Ricans
- Puerto Rican literature
- Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States