Nicolás Estévanez

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Literature · Subcategory: Literary street map

Nicolás Estévanez y Murphy (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1838 - Paris, 1914), in the words of Domingo Pérez Minik, was “a paradoxical, lovable and original figure, an agitator first and foremost, the most loyal man you could wish to know, a brave soldier, honest politician, above all a headstrong anarchist, staunch federalist and republican, a true puritan server, of truth itself, a formidable progressive bourgeois, ever ready to lay everything on the line, to defend justice, his honour, and possessed the most serious dignified morals”.

It has been said of Nicolás Estévanez that it is unlikely, impossible even, to find in the Island's history, or in the whole of Spain's history for that matter, such an interesting, lively and controversial figure, the author of exceptional memoirs of 19th century Spain. 

His literary works are encapsulated in two key moments of his life; in its initial moments and during his period of exile. On the one hand, he is considered a post-romantic poet, of contained emotion. On the other, his poetry was related to a later regional literature. His works include: Romances y cantares, Musa canaria o Rastros de la vida.

«My homeland is not the world,
my homeland is not Europe;
my homeland is an almond tree 
with its sweet, cool, unforgettable shade [...]»

(Canaries)

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