Manuel Ramos Otero
Encyclopedia
Manuel Ramos Otero was a Puerto Rican writer. He is widely considered to be the most important openly
gay
twentieth-century Puerto Rican writer who wrote in Spanish, and his work was often controversial due to its sexual and political content. Ramos Otero died in San Juan, Puerto Rico
, due to complications from AIDS
.
, Puerto Rico
, and spent his childhood in his home town, living in the second location of the old building of the Puerto Rican Casino of Manatí. He began his studies at the Colegio La Inmaculada in Manatí. His family then moved to San Juan when he was seven years old. He later attended the University of Puerto Rico
High School in Río Piedras (1960–1965) and went on to receive a B.A. in Social Sciences (with a major in sociology and a minor in political sciences) from the University of Puerto Rico, graduating in 1969. In 1979 he received an M.A. in literature from New York University
. While living in New York
, he worked as a social researcher, and later as a professor at diverse universities including Rutgers University
, LaGuardia Community College
, York College
, and Lehman College
. He also established a small publishing house, El Libro Viaje. He organized conferences and gatherings of Puerto Rican writers in the United States such as Giannina Braschi and Luis Rafael Sanchez. He is best remembered as a poet and the author of short stories, but he also wrote a novel and several essays on literary criticism.
One of Ramos Otero's most interesting stories is "La última plena que bailó Luberza" (Luberza's Last Plena
Dance), which he published in 1975 in the literary journal Zona de carga y descarga alongside a story by Rosario Ferré
("Cuando las mujeres quieren a los hombres"). Ramos Otero's and Ferré's stories were based on the life of Isabel Luberza Oppenheimer (better known as Isabel la Negra
), a famous madam
who ran a brothel
in the city of Ponce
from the 1930s to the 1960s. Ramos Otero's story was later included in his book El cuento de la Mujer del Mar (The Story of the Woman of the Sea).
In his work, Ramos Otero openly defends gay viewpoints and feminist positions. For him, homosexuality represented an outsider status; he did not advocate for full integration, but rather explored the situation of marginal subjects. He also discussed his HIV status and the prejudice and discrimination faced by people affected by AIDS. Most of his production has not been translated and is only available in Spanish.
. Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes
has written about Ramos Otero in the context of the Puerto Rican queer diaspora, comparing him to other artists such as Luz María Umpierre
, Frances Negrón-Muntaner
, and Erika Lopez
.
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
twentieth-century Puerto Rican writer who wrote in Spanish, and his work was often controversial due to its sexual and political content. Ramos Otero died in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, due to complications from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
.
Life
Jesús Manuel Ramos Otero was born in ManatíManatí, Puerto Rico
Manatí is a municipality of Puerto Rico in the northern coast, north of Morovis and Ciales; east of Florida and Barceloneta; and west of Vega Baja. Manatí is spread over 8 wards and Manatí Pueblo...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, and spent his childhood in his home town, living in the second location of the old building of the Puerto Rican Casino of Manatí. He began his studies at the Colegio La Inmaculada in Manatí. His family then moved to San Juan when he was seven years old. He later attended the University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
High School in Río Piedras (1960–1965) and went on to receive a B.A. in Social Sciences (with a major in sociology and a minor in political sciences) from the University of Puerto Rico, graduating in 1969. In 1979 he received an M.A. in literature from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. While living in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, he worked as a social researcher, and later as a professor at diverse universities including Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, LaGuardia Community College
LaGuardia Community College
LaGuardia Community College is a two-year community college located in the Hunter's Point section of Long Island City in the New York City borough of Queens, and is a component of the City University of New York. LaGuardia is named after former Congressman and New York mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia...
, York College
York College, City University of New York
York College of The City University of New York is one of eleven senior colleges in the City University of New York system. It is located in Jamaica, Queens in New York City...
, and Lehman College
Lehman College
Lehman College is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, USA. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, the school became an independent college within the City University in 1968. The college is named after Herbert Lehman, a former New York governor,...
. He also established a small publishing house, El Libro Viaje. He organized conferences and gatherings of Puerto Rican writers in the United States such as Giannina Braschi and Luis Rafael Sanchez. He is best remembered as a poet and the author of short stories, but he also wrote a novel and several essays on literary criticism.
Literary production
Many but not all of Ramos Otero's works focus on autobiographical characters of gay Puerto Rican men who are writers and live in New York City.One of Ramos Otero's most interesting stories is "La última plena que bailó Luberza" (Luberza's Last Plena
Plena
Plena is a folkloric genre native to Puerto Rico. Its creation was influenced by African and Spanish music.-History:The music is generally folkloric. The music's beat and rhythm are usually played using hand drums called panderetas, but also known as panderos or pleneras. The music is accompanied...
Dance), which he published in 1975 in the literary journal Zona de carga y descarga alongside a story by Rosario Ferré
Rosario Ferré
Dr. Rosario Ferré is a Puerto Rican writer, poet and essayist. Her father, Luis A. Ferré, was the third elected Governor of Puerto Rico, and the founding father of the New Progressive Party. When her mother, Lorenza Ramírez de Arellano, died in 1970...
("Cuando las mujeres quieren a los hombres"). Ramos Otero's and Ferré's stories were based on the life of Isabel Luberza Oppenheimer (better known as Isabel la Negra
Isabel la Negra
Isabel Luberza Oppenheimer , better known as "Isabel la Negra", was a Puerto Rican brothel owner and madam in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Her name and her brothel, Elizabeth's Dancing Club, became part of Puerto Rican folklore both during her life and posthumously...
), a famous madam
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
who ran a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
in the city of Ponce
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
from the 1930s to the 1960s. Ramos Otero's story was later included in his book El cuento de la Mujer del Mar (The Story of the Woman of the Sea).
In his work, Ramos Otero openly defends gay viewpoints and feminist positions. For him, homosexuality represented an outsider status; he did not advocate for full integration, but rather explored the situation of marginal subjects. He also discussed his HIV status and the prejudice and discrimination faced by people affected by AIDS. Most of his production has not been translated and is only available in Spanish.
Essays
- "De la colonización a la culonización." Cupey 8, no. 1-2 (1991): 63-79.
- "La ética de la marginación en la poesía de Luis Cernuda." Cupey 5, no. 1-2 (1988): 16-29.
- "Ficción e historia: Texto y pretexto de la autobiografía." El mundo (Puerto Rico Ilustrado) [San Juan, P.R.] 14 de octubre de 1990: 20-23.
Narrative
- Concierto de metal para un recuerdo y otras orgías de soledad. San Juan: Editorial Cultural, 1971.
- El cuento de la Mujer del Mar. Río Piedras: Ediciones Huracán, 1979.
- Cuentos de buena tinta. San Juan: Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1992.
- La novelabingo. New York: Editorial El Libro Viaje, 1976.
- Página en blanco y staccato. 2nda ed. Madrid: Editorial Playor, 1988 [1987].
Poetry
- Invitación al polvo. Madrid: Editorial Plaza Mayor, 1991.
- El libro de la muerte. Río Piedras: Editorial Cultural; Maplewood, N.J.: Waterfront Press, 1985.
Critical reception
Numerous literary scholars have written about Ramos Otero, including Arnaldo Cruz-Malavé, Jossianna Arroyo, Juan G. Gelpí, and José Quiroga. Rubén Ríos Ávila has compared Ramos Otero's experiences in New York to those of the exiled Cuban writer Reinaldo ArenasReinaldo Arenas
Reinaldo Arenas was a Cuban poet, novelist, and playwright who despite his early sympathy for the 1959 revolution, grew critical of and then rebelled against the Cuban government.- Life :...
. Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes
Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes
Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes is a gay Puerto Rican author, scholar, and performer. He is better known as Larry La Fountain. He has received several awards for his creative writing and scholarship as well as for his work with Latino and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students...
has written about Ramos Otero in the context of the Puerto Rican queer diaspora, comparing him to other artists such as Luz María Umpierre
Luz María Umpierre
Luz María Umpierre-Herrera is a Puerto Rican poet, scholar, and human rights activist who lives in the United States. She is also known as Luzma Umpierre. She is widely recognized for her open exploration of her lesbianism, immigrant experience, and bilingualism, and for her poetic exchange with...
, Frances Negrón-Muntaner
Frances Negrón-Muntaner
Frances Negrón-Muntaner is an award-winning Puerto Rican filmmaker, writer, and scholar. Her work spans several fields, including cinema, literature, cultural criticism, and politics. She is an associate professor of English and Comparative Literature and Director of the Center for the Study of...
, and Erika Lopez
Erika Lopez
Erika Lopez is an American cartoonist, novelist, and performance artist of Puerto Rican descent who has published six books and speaks openly of her bisexuality...
.
See also
- LGBT literatureLGBT literatureGay literature is a collective term for literature produced by or for the LGBT community, or which involves characters, plot lines or themes portraying male homosexual behavior.-Subgenres:...
- LGBT rights in Puerto RicoLGBT rights in Puerto RicoLesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender persons in Puerto Rico face some legal issues. Public discussion and debate about sexual orientation and gender identity issues have increased, and some legal changes have been made. Currently, both supporters and opponents of legislation protecting the rights...
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- List of gay, lesbian or bisexual people
- List of LGBT writers
- List of Puerto Rican writers
- Puerto Rican literature
- Puerto Ricans in the United StatesPuerto Ricans in the United StatesStateside Puerto Ricans are American citizens of Puerto Rican origin, including those who migrated from Puerto Rico to the United States and those who were born outside of Puerto Rico in the United States...