Guantanamo.- Excilia Saldaña was a poet, teacher, children’s storyteller, translator, and scholar whose work was profoundly influenced by her explorations of Afro-Cuban womanhood and children’s literature. At the intersection of these themes, enriched by her personal experiences and an intimate voice, she expressed the sensibilities of a generation. Her work reflects elements of Negrismo through a deeply personal lens, redefining the role and significance of Black women of Afro-Cuban heritage in literature, as noted by researcher and writer Emilia Baigorria.
“For me, literature is an act of communication, a need to teach and to learn. That’s why much of what I do is dedicated to children. I remember my formative experiences—not just those from my family life, but also what I read as a child. I spent years searching for the author of a quote that deeply moved me. Authors who write for children face both a blessing and a curse: on one hand, they remain in the hearts of children; on the other hand, the children rarely remember their names,” Excilia shared in an interview.
One of her most enduring and celebrated works is La noche (1989). This piece, woven with memories of her grandmother, reveals an emotional closeness that resonates throughout her writings, where imagery and memory blend in an elegiac dance. In this work, memory serves not only as a trace but also as a necessary anchor. Saldaña remarked about this piece:
“(…) It is total poetry based on the heuristic method and Socratic dialogue. It moves from presentation to understanding. Almost everything is conveyed through two elements: rhyme and musicality, which always captivates children, and conceptual depth. I try to create what I call a ‘circular book’—one that leaves a pleasant impression when read in childhood but reveals entirely new meanings upon revisiting it with more life experience. In that sense, my model might be The Little Prince. At least that was my intention in writing for children, and many people say La noche achieves just that.”
In the third volume of Historia de la literatura cubana (Editorial Letras Cubanas, 2008), her book is described as a mature and groundbreaking work that marks the literary coming-of-age of a generation, serving as a surprise gift to Cuban literature.
According to Deicy G. Jiménez, a scholar with a Ph.D. in Latin American Literature, Saldaña’s poetry significantly contributes not only to Negrista poetry but also to the visibility of women in Cuban literary life. The intimacy in her work and her inclusion of themes of race and gender place her within a movement that revives interest in the Black experience in Cuba, uniquely emphasizing women as creative subjects. Jiménez notes:
“An analysis of the representation of Black and mixed-race women in the early Negrista movement shows how male poets often depicted Afro-descendant women through a sexualized lens. In contrast, the voices of women poets like Saldaña and Nancy Morejón respond with intimate, personal poetry that dismantles the eroticized imagery of their predecessors. Saldaña’s poetry, positioned within the Negrista aesthetic, opens a new space for defining Afro-Cuban female identity and challenges dominant notions of ‘race,’ ‘gender,’ and ‘nation.’”
Jiménez also highlights how Saldaña rejects ideas of weakness, subjugation, silence, and a lack of control over one’s destiny or sexuality. Instead, she presents a vision of female leadership, replacing the image of women as male sexual objects. This shift strengthens the literary voice of Black women and opens new pathways for their legacy in national history and cultural imagination. For this reason, Jiménez views the study of Saldaña’s poetry as evidence of a new era in Afro-Cuban women’s literary production:
“Saldaña’s poetry focuses on the lived experiences of Afro-Cuban women while emphasizing female generational power. The relationship between grandmother, mother, and daughter forms a timeless unit. The role of women is defined through intergenerational solidarity, transforming the domestic space into a site of resistance. Within the patriarchal order, this female alliance carves out a new identity. Through poetry filled with subjectivity and self-reflection, the poet overturns stereotypical images of Afro-Cuban women.”
This aspect of her work, evident in collections like Mi nombre: antielegía familiar (1991) and poems such as “Monólogo de la esposa,” reveals an author who delved deeply into her personal world and intimate relationships, highlighting the power of subjectivity to shape and give meaning to even the harshest realities.
Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez
