Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda

Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda y Arteaga (March 23, 1814 – February 1, 1873) was a 19th century Cuban writer. Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda y Arteaga, widely known as la Avellaneda, was born in Santa María de Puerto Príncipe (modern day Camagüey), Cuba. She came from a noble background; her father, Manuel Gomez de Avellaneda, was a descendent of the royal family of Navarre and aristocracy of Vizcaya of Spain, and also a commander of the Spanish navy in charge of the central regions of Cuba. Her mother, Francisca de Arteaga y Betancourt, was also from a wealthy Spanish family that had lived in Puerto Príncipe. It is said that her mother’s family is the one that inspired the family in her first novel, Sab. At the age of nine, her father...