María Eulalia de Borbón, la princesa que se enamoró de la Habana. 👸🏻😊 Bastaron a la princesa María Eulalia de Borbón una estancia de siete días en la Villa de San Cristóbal de La Habana, en mayo de 1893, para describirla en carta a su madre la reina Isabel II como “ciudad única, espléndida, galante, hecha al derroche, a la suntuosidad y al lujo, a las elegancias europeas y al señorío criollo”. Sobre sus impresiones agregó «No puedes figurarte hasta qué punto La Habana y yo formamos un solo cuerpo y un solo pensamiento. Sí, sí, [la] echaré de menos. De manera que voy a abandonar este admirable país —calor aparte— donde todo es interesante, donde todo embelesa por su encanto (…)”. Acotó,… More
Princess Maria Eulalia of Bourbon was sufficient for a seven-day stay at the villa of San Cristobal in Havana in May 1893, to describe her in letter to her mother Queen Elizabeth II as ′′ unique, splendid, gallant city done to waste, sumptuousness and luxury, European elegances and Creole lordship «. On his impressions he added ′′ You can’t figure out how far Havana and I formed one body and one thought. Yes, yes, [her] I will miss her. So I’m going to leave this admirable country-heat apart-where everything is interesting, where everything is beautifull because of its charm (…) «. He also agreed ′′ I will surely feel the nostalgia of Havana, so particularly looking, with its mix of inhabitants, ranging from white to black to the tone of the mixed-breeds and men of Indian complexion ′′ (…) As I departed, my heart has tightened as if I never had to step back on this fertile earth, this lovely country where feelings are as vivid as plants and trees… I thought it was leaving behind me some of the myself «. Years after the beginning of the twentieth century the princess published those references in her memoirs and Letters to Isabel II (My Journey to Cuba and the United States), authentic literary passages that allow the fairly complete reconstruction of the plots of her journey. But the Infanta’s journey wasn’t a romantic getaway, nor pleasure to exotic places in the Caribbean. He obeyed a pragmatic diplomatic and political mission by the will of the Queen and the Spanish head of the government Antonio C ánnovas del Castillo, who motivated by nothing lyrical reasons sent the Princess across the Atlantic to help maintain colonial dominance before the Insurrection airs that battered on the always faithful island of Cuba. A sincere emissary And in compliance with that political enquiry, he was derailingly sincere to the Spanish crown when he summed up his opinion: ′′ Few days were enough for me to realize the true Cuban situation (…). Behind the attentions, the kindness and the characteristic affability of Habanero discovered his political thought distanced from the crown… I only heard words of respect, sympathy and tribute. But I saw that in Cuba our cause was definitely lost «. As Eulalia of Bourbon pointed out, Canovas explained to him that his journey would have a mission to calm Cubans and bring to them the announcement that His Majesty will respond to their requests as far as possible. Our policy toward Cuba will change (…) but first we must subdue the insurgents, without hurting our addicts «, the traveller said. After his stay in Havana he would depart for the U.S. USA. to participate in the Chicago Fair and would represent the Queen to the American president on friendly visit. Couldn’t choose a better sent for such a delicate commitment. Eulalia of Bourbon, aged 28, possessed extensive humanist intellectual training she acquired in the best French schools during a period of exile, when a Republican movement evicted the monarchy between 1868 and 1875, fluently dominated the French, English and German, among other languages and had visited all European courts, so she became what in current terms would be an ambassador for special missions. The Princess did not escape the attention of politician, journalist and writer Jose Mart í. ′′ On this lady of beautiful figure, sorting look, elegance she attracts, and vast mind (…) True they carry their eyes behind her bustling laugh, her clear blue eyes, her golden hair, her glowing and mobile physiognomy … It’s fame that has rude will, and heartbreak pointed out by music…». (The National Opinion, Caracas, September 17, 1881). During the preparation of the trip to Cuba, he turned to General Calixto Garcia, who resided in Madrid, and about that meeting he told ′′ I contacted Garcia through a common friend, and thanks to the Cuban ‘leader’ cult I could penetrate a little bit in the reality of the problem. I came to think that, after all, Cubans had plenty of reason in their desires to free themselves (…) «. The Forbidden Colors The royal entourage arrived in Havana on May 8, after a brief stay in San Juan Puerto Rico and was also composed of the husband of Princess Eulalia, Duke Antonio of Orleans and Bourbon, Duke of Tamames and of Veragua, a bridesmaid, the Marquise of Arc Hermoso and as private secretary, Don Pedro Jover. At the city pier and along the coastline aggregated for the first-line welcome all civil and military authorities, clergy, wealthy villa, honor guard and an immense amount of public that she didn’t want to miss the welcome, for the first time since the discovery, to a daughter of the queen of Spain. But in the face of the entourage headed by beautiful Eulalia, some military gimpers changed faces and would have happened to the action of not being the Bourbon itself, which wore a suit in blue blue fabric and a red velvet neck, reproducing colors of the flag of the mambises, something prohibitive to the fiery censorship of the Spanish authorities. In her memoir, the visitor explained that the husband and companions asked her to change the outfit, to which she refused because the dress was her choice to travel to the Island and the similarity with the colors of the Cuban flag was a coincidence. However, the fact served as a theme for the Comadreos across the city and not few considered it was a sample of the Princess’s sympathy for the Cuban cause. His idyll for the town was at first sight and said that ′′ The first impressions of the city of Havana have reminded me of Sevilla, with their homes down, so tight against each other and topped all of them off by a roof «. Del Morro, wrote ′′ It is an immense pe ñasasco full of majesty, which stands perpendicularly above the sea Its walls, its parapets, its towers, its pendons, its floating signals and the lighthouse that dominates it, give it the look of a large war machine, a colossus sentinel stand to guard the city «. Official program and other reality He was offered a party in the gardens of the Fifth of the Mills, the captain General’s cottage he describes as paradise, where ′′ The pretty Cuban women with their clear dresses came and went, waving their fans, whose multicolored tones buttered over the Dark vegetable among lustful tropical vegetation (…). I had always heard the beauty of habaneras, her lordship, her elegance and above all, her sweetness, but reality far exceeded what I had imagined «. Authorities prepared a program that included visiting a tobacco factory, a hospital, meals in honor of him, horseback riding and a sound reception provided by the counts of Fernandina, at his palace del Cerro, where they possibly spent until the last one peseta of its waning capital. But the gesture was recognized by the Infanta who left written about the party ′′(…) impressed me greatly, because of her elegance, her distinction and her lordship, all quite more refined than in the Madrid society of the time… Havana it is a rich, splendid, gallant city, made to waste, sumptuousness and luxury, European elegance and Creole lordship. Havana, made us a warm, affectionate and sympathetic welcome, without severity would formulate, but full of emotion, as Cubans are «. According to versions of his stay in Havana, La Infanta turned to Catalan journalist Antonio de San Miguel, a well-known liberal filiation, who put him in contact with intellectuals and politicians of the Island and representatives of ′′ people of color «, interviews of the which was able to obtain a very objective assessment of the Cuban situation in 1893 as it captured in his memoirs. Maria Eulalia of Bourbon would have a long existence. For much of her life was the misunderstood of the Spanish Royal House, especially in the early th century, when even was banished from her country by the Spanish King for her well-known positions and texts favorable to the claim of women’s rights and criticize the prejudices of the Spanish court and society in general. He died in his homeland, in 1958 at age 94, without returning to the ′′ charming country where feelings are as lively as plants and trees ′′ and where he was forever stuck from the villa of San Cristobal from Havana and its people. Posted 12th March 2019 by Jorge Wejebe Cobo
Tags: Cuba Spain Eulalia of Bourbon Havana Mart í. ·