Configuración de la patria y de las letras cubanas en el siglo diecinueve

the shaping of cuban motherland imaginary had its foundational stage during the third decade of the ninetenth century. it was a group of cuban literates, coming from different fields of study -but joined in the ideals of liberal reformism- who consciously developed an initial symbolic mould on which a certain conception of the motherland will be founded. in literary texts and essays, these intellectuals capture their concerns and doubts, while sketching and delimiting early blueprints of a nation. this paper proposes to analyze a letter written by cuban poet josé jacinto milanés (1814-1863) adressed to domingo del monte (1804-1853), since it allows us to capture the discussions held by these intellectuals around the building of an identity and a patriotic literature, as well as the process of writing itself, in relation to the shaping of human relationships typical of those literate circles at that period of time.