Jennet Rodriguez Betancourt

The cubanito has outwardly expressed that he would not tolerate what he himself
had previously done. Once again by using diverse literary devices and expressing truths
halfway this author has uncovered some very serious denouncements towards the
metropolis; in this case insults masqueraded by an Englishman and a cubanito in
Barcelona. Córdova Iturregui states, “Es una escena maravillosa, que resalta por su
carácter democrático y respetuoso hacia todas las culturas” (20).
Like Salvador Brau, Cordova Iturregui agrees that anyone reading El Jíbaro must
be transported to the historical, cultural, and political context in which Alonso wrote.
The reader must also bear in mind that Puerto Rico’s literature bloomed in the hands of
young writers who were continuously under the watchful eye of the colonizer who
permitted very little tolerance or space for self-expression. He further stresses that
Alonso was a reformist who wanted Puerto Rico to move toward modernization and
progress with the help of the metropolis. “Alonso no era revolucionario, sino un
reformista que proponía en todo momento el diálogo como solución a los problemas del
país: hay que entenderlo en esa dimensión” (Cordova 22). Alonso wanted an association
with Spain, but he also wanted all the rights that accompany this alliance. That’s why he
promoted dialogue and not conflict while cautiously struggling for progress and a literary
space that was almost inexistent.
According to Luis Felipe Diaz, Alonso was a liberal and his book reveals the
author’s own social project. “En El gibaro de Manuel Alonso se nos revela, en tal
sentido, como el más formidable intento de textualizar los deseos y aspiraciones de
progreso social de unos grupos liberales comprometidos, ya directa o indirectamente, con
la producción material y simbólica que se desprende de la actividad hacendado-
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