Jennet Rodriguez Betancourt

underprivileged circumstances. 156). At this point , Alonso masters the role of a literary
critic incorporating and examining verses from different poems (La Vida, Insomnio, Mis
Memorias) in which the poet illustrates his enormous talent while vibrantly describing the
island’s beauty. He evidences that if Santiago Vidarte was able to create such
exceptional work under such appalling conditions; what would occur if the circumstances
were otherwise. He ends the scene describing the death of this gifted twenty-one year old
poet, who in the arms of friends repeatedly rambled “…los nombres de sus padres y el de
su patria, anadiendo siempre: es preciso estudiar…” (Alonso 80). Although Alonso is
frustrated with education in Puerto Rico, he does not want to disturb colonial authority
and he continuously inserts writings that carry concealed transcripts. Most importantly,
“El fue nuestro primer costumbrista y el primer escritor que se ocupo críticamente de la
obra de un poeta puertorriqueño” (Martínez Masdeu 156).
Manuel A. Alonso published El Gibaro as a collection of vignettes masterfully
weaving stories and articulating customs and traditions that should not be forgotten. Yet
between the lines, this cultural mannerist depicted the language, customs, and traditions
of this romanticized peasant to shield his own discourse. A discourse that did not want
Puerto Rico to be independent from Spain, but that pleaded for justice, equality, and
respect from the imperial power.
From the very beginning the title in El gíbaro, the protagonist is the inoffensive
rural peasant who must be educated and cultivated in order for Puerto Rico to move
forward. Immediately it is this country-folk figure who takes center stage and not the
already mistrusted writer, Alonso. While illustrating vivid snapshots of the clothing,
music, dance, festivities, and daily life of this simple jíbaro, an identity in formation
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