Julia de Burgos - Early Years

Early Years

Julia de Burgos (birth name: Julia Constanza de Burgos García) was born to Francisco Burgos Hans (a farmer) and Paula García de Burgos. Although her father worked for the National Guard and farmed near the town of Carolina, Puerto Rico, when she was born, the family later removed to the barrio of Santa Cruz of the same city. She was the oldest of thirteen children, and six of her youngest siblings died of malnutrition. Her family's poverty did not keep her from developing a love for nature and her country, as noted in her first work Río Grande de Loíza. According to Burgos:

"My childhood was all a poem in the river, and a river in the poem of my first dreams."

After she graduated from Muñoz Rivera Primary School in 1928, her family moved to Rio Piedras where she was awarded a scholarship to attend University High School. In 1931, she enrolled in University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus to become a teacher.

In 1933, Burgos graduated at the age of 19 from the University of Puerto Rico with a degree in teaching. She became a teacher and worked at Feijoo Elementary School in Barrio Cedro Arriba of Naranjito, Puerto Rico. She also worked as writer for a children's program on public radio, but was reportedly fired for her political beliefs. Her love for literature led her to write poetry. Among her early influences were Luis Llorens Torres, Clara Lair, Rafael Alberti and Pablo Neruda.