Cuban Academy of Language

The Cuban Academy of Language is the governing body for the standard and use of the Cuban variant of Spanish, bringing together the most prominent intellectuals for their contribution to the promotion of the Spanish language in Cuba. It belongs to the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language.

Origin and Constitution

The Royal Spanish Academy was established on July 6, 1713. However, it was not until December 3, 1714 when, by means of a Royal Order of Foundation, King Felipe V authorized the drafting of its statutes and granted them its members certain privileges. This institution directed its work towards the safeguarding of the literary language, although it also paid attention to the usual language.

In the 18th century there was already an awareness that the Spanish language had reached a high degree of perfection. The motto "Clean, fix and give splendor" and the emblem - which shows a crucible on the fire - attest to the Academy: to strengthen the words of the Spanish language in their greatest property and elegance. When the American colonies achieved the independence of Metropolis, the Royal Academy understood the need to promote the creation of Corporations in the new Republics. The birth of these Corresponding Academies was not motivated by political interests, but because he considered that the citizens of all those nations had the same language as their common homeland and, therefore, shared the heritage of the same literature.

The American and Philippine Academies arose from an agreement reached on November 24, 1870. Thus, on May 10, 1871, the Colombian Academy of Language was born, the first American Correspondent, with headquarters in Bogotá; and then, in 1874, 1875, and 1876, the Ecuadorian, Mexican, and Salvadoran corporations followed, in that order.

From the moment they were founded, the essential task of these institutions would be to collaborate with their parent company in the preparation of the Dictionary and Grammar, and to permanently inform it of the state of the language in each region. Between 1922 and 1930, eight Academies were organized that demonstrated Spain's will to preserve linguistic unity with its former colonies. This intention was an important factor that led to the emergence of a similar corporation in Cuba. However, what is most significant is that the Cuban Academy of Language was founded in Madrid on May 19, 1926, and it was not until October 2 of the same year, according to the minutes, when they met for the first time in La Havana the members designated for its official constitution. The board was made up of a director, a vice-director and a secretary; These three positions, established by the Royal Spanish Academy, were held by Enrique José Varona, Fernando Ortiz and Antonio L. Valverde, respectively.

The founding of the Cuban Academy of Language had great repercussions in the press of the time: the event was reviewed in several newspapers, such as the Diario de la Marina, El País and the monthly magazine El Fígaro, founded by Manuel S. Pichardo.

Once the Cuban Correspondent was constituted, it was agreed to create a commission made up of Fernando Ortiz, Antonio Sánchez de Bustamante and Francisco de Paula Coronado to draft the regulations that would govern work and academic life. In 1927 the first statutes appear, which will be modified later with regard to the charges and the number of members.

The initial figure, which fixed the number of academics at 18, increased to 24 after 1960; currently by the letters of the alphabet. In 1927 it had been established that the Academy would have a periodical publication in which works of diverse natures would appear, among them those that reflected its internal and official life; but it was not until 1952 when the number corresponding to the January-March quarter of that year was published for the first time.

Other significant changes introduced are the creation of the dignity of corresponding academic although these appointments were made before and the holding of elections in special meetings.

In the initial draft of the statutes, it is established as an essential requirement to make an admission speech but, apparently, the first academics were exempted from it, since there is no evidence that they have been carried out. Until 1951, as recorded in the minutes, it was resolved to maintain the suspension of the regulation in what refers to this point; however, later it was agreed to defend the delivery of a work that would be read in public. In 1953 the obligatory nature of this exercise is endorsed.

Academic Life

Around 1926 some academics already belonged to other Corporations. In 1910 the Academy of the History of Cuba and the Academy of Arts and Letters had been established, both independently, attached to the Secretariat of Public Instruction and Fine Arts. Among their respective directions appeared Fernando Figueredo Socarrás and Antonio Sánchez de Bustamante. Once the academics were established, it was stipulated that the Cuban Academy of Language would be in session for eight months and would recess from June to September. The meetings would be private and public; the first, on a monthly basis, and the second would be convened when the institution deems it, in order to carry out activities of a diverse nature. The acts of admission, the reading of works written by the academics themselves and the commemoration of relevant dates - Book Day or various centenaries, such as the death of the Cuban poet Juan Clemente Zenea - are among the most significant. On several occasions, important guests attended, such as Dr. Max Henríquez Ureña, corresponding member of the Dominican Republic. The commemoration of Language Day (April 23) held annually was indeed one of the fundamental events of the Corporation. On the occasion of this date, an extensive cultural program took place that included a pilgrimage to the Plaza de San Juan de Dios to place a wreath at the Miguel de Cervantes monument, and the designated academic gave a lecture. In addition to the activities typical of academic dynamics, the Corporation was inserted into the cultural life of the time. His authority was expressed in the granting of the National Prize for Literature (1938), and the journalistic Justo Lara, both in line with the Directorate of Culture of the Ministry of Education of the Republic. The Academy had a remarkable performance despite the political situation in the country and the deep economic crisis it was going through. In 1947, the then director Chacón y Calvo declared that, although the institution had no financial means of any kind, it contributed to the commemoration of the centenary of the death of Cervantes with the Praise of the Prince of Wits. The year of 1951 is decisive for the Cuban Academy. Important events mark the beginning of a new stage. The Association of Spanish Language Academies is created, in whose statutes it is stated that one of the means that each institution would use to achieve its goals, would be to ensure that their respective governments recognize them as private entities of public interest. Thus, they could provide advice on the teaching of Spanish in schools and would be consulted, from the grammatical point of view, for the drafting and interpretation of laws, decrees and everything that implies the correct use of the language in the official sphere. It was at this juncture that the then President of the Republic, Carlos Prío Socarrás, and the Minister of Education, Aureliano Sánchez Arango, decided to make the Cuban Academy of Language official by decree. In July of that same year, the government granted an annual credit of eight thousand pesos payable in monthly installments. The financial support received allowed for an administrative reorganization, since a secretarial officer and a head of office were hired, and a fee was paid to the Ateneo de La Habana for the loan of its premises. The academics had been exposed to a constant pilgrimage from the very birth of the institution. In the statutes of 1927 the place that the Academy should occupy did not appear, and until then it had held sessions in different places, among which is the private residence of its first director, Enrique José Varona. The consequences of this itinerant character were also felt in the institutional library. Its funds had been formed from donations made by the Royal Spanish Academy and other entities such as the Secretary of State of the Republic and also by personal initiative of some interested parties. Since its creation, the Academy had established that it would have a periodical publication in which works of a diverse nature would appear, including those that reflected its internal and official life. The Corporation's supplement featured different sections that over time changed their names or merged into others. It began with the papers and entrance speeches of tenured and corresponding academics. In the second part, called Necrology or Duels, the deaths were reported and the letters of condolences were made known. It also had a space dedicated to book reviews and the Academic Life category, which reflected the institution's operation. The January-June 1954 Bulletin was dedicated to the cycle of Marti lectures carried out by the Cuban Academy of Language, which was closely linked to the cultural actions that were carried out on the occasion of the Cententh anniversary of the birth of José Martí. At the request of Dr. José López Isa, General Director of Culture, the academics collaborated in the organization of the homage to the Apostle and acted as a court in the contests called for this purpose. Contributions to the Language The linguistic issue is one of the pillars of the work of Corporations of this nature. Academics must examine the neologisms that appear, especially in the scientific, technical and sports field; consult the other Academies about them and give effect to these proposals until reaching the forms that are destined to the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (DRAE). Since its foundation, the Cuban Academy had a list of mainly poets, publicists, novelists, jurists and historians who, without being trained linguists, immediately got involved in this work. In 1927 the nascent institution exchanged opinions with the Spanish Gabriel Maura about the new modifications that would be made to the Grammar. After 1951, with the founding of the Association of Language Academies and the holding of its first Congress, the linguistic task became more relevant. Consultations from the American Correspondents, and from other national and international institutions, were more frequent. The terms inquired were discussed in the sessions and an academic was appointed to answer these concerns. Lexicographical work was also deepened, thanks to which we now have such important works as Voces Cubanas, by Pichardo Moya; Dictionary of the Cuban Lexicon, by Juan M. Digo y Mestre, and Major Lexicon, by Esteban Rodríguez Herrera. The latter, along with Juan Fonseca, took language issues beyond the academic framework. Both had an important participation as members of the jury of different contests, such as the one convened by the magazine Carteles: Project for the Spanish language of the most common words in the language of the ball game and boxing, and distinguished themselves by their collaborations with the Diario de the Navy, where various articles on language problems were published.

Corporation Headquarters

In 1960, the revolutionary government assigned the Palacio del Segundo Cabo to the Academies of the History of Arts and Letters and the Cubana de la Lengua. For the first time, the Corporation would have its own house, with separate offices for the director, the legal secretary and assistants, as well as a meeting room and an area for the library. When it seemed that the academics had finally achieved an autonomous space, the project failed. That same year they had to return to the old premises in the Ateneo de La Habana until its infrastructure, in gradual deterioration, allowed it. Given the lack of financial support and public recognition, as well as the lack of its own headquarters, the Academy could perish. However, it owes its survival to the personalities who honored it and tried to preserve it at all costs. One of the figures that contributed the most to the safeguarding of the Corporation was Dulce María Loynaz, who had been designated a full member in 1957 at the proposal of José María Chacón y Calvo. In the 1970s, the author of Jardín committed to the work of the institution and was appointed to the position of vice director. Starting in 1976, she welcomed the Corporation at her home in Vedado, at 19 and E, where she lived until recent times. Since January 11, 2010, the Cuban Academy of Language has its headquarters in the "Santo Domingo" Building, in the Historic Center. The inauguration of the new recital was attended by Dr. Eusebio Leal Spengler, City Historian, and Roberto Fernández Retamar, director of the Corporation, as well as the rest of its members. This place has optimal conditions for the performance of the Academy: offices, library and meeting room, in addition to also benefiting from the other University facilities.

Academics

Number of academics in order of seniority

• B: Mr. D. Miguel Barnet Lanza (23 April 1989)
• C: Ms. D.a Luisa Campuzano Senti (23 April 1990)
• F: Mr. D. Eusebio Leal Spengler (8 February 1994)
• H: Mr. D. Sergio Valdés Bernal (20 June 1995)
• J: Mr. D. Enrique Saínz de la Torriente (17 September 1995)
• K: Mr. D. Roberto Fernández Retamar (17 September 1995)
• L: Mr. D. César López Núñez (19 December 1996)
• M: Mrs. D.a Graziella Pogolotti Jacobson (19 December 1996)
• N: Mr. D. Pablo Armando Fernández (4 February 1997)
• O: Mr. D. Ambrosio Fornet Frutos (12 March 1997)
• P: Mrs. D.a Nuria Gregori Torada (19 January 1999)
• Q: Mrs. D.a Nancy Morejón Hernández (23 February 1999)
• S: Mr. D. Rogelio Rodríguez Coronel (23 April 2003)
• T: Mr. D. Reynaldo González Zamora (18 March 2005)
• D: Mr. D. Roberto Méndez Martínez (7 March 2006)
• V: Mrs. D.a Ana Margarita Mateo Palmer (June 23, 2006)
• Z: Mr. D. Eduardo Moisés Torres Cuevas (14 March 2007)
• E: Mrs. D.a María Elina Miranda Cancela (October 23, 2007)
• I: Mr. D. Antón Arrufat Mrad (26 May 2008)
• And: Mrs. D.a Marlen A. Domínguez Hernández (27 March 2008)
• W: Mrs. D.a Ana María González Mafud (25 June 2009)
• ÑMrs. D.a Maritza Carrillo Guilbert (September 22, 2010)
• G: Mr. D. Jorge Fornet Gil (25 November 2014)
• R: Mrs. D.a Mirta Yáñez Quiñoá (30 March 2015)
• A: Mrs. D.a Cira Romero (10 September 2018)
• X: Mr. D. Reinaldo Montero (1 October 2018)
• U: Mr. D. Leonardo Padura (26 November 2018)

National corresponding academics

• Mr. D. Luis Álvarez (7 March 2006)
• Ms. D.a Gema Mestre (19 March 2007)

Hispanic American Corresponding Academics

• Mr. D. Alfonso Sastre Salvador (Spain)
• Mr. D. Víctor García de la Concha (Spain)
• Mr. D. Gregorio Salvador Caja (Spain)
• Mr. D. Humberto López Morales (Puerto Rico)
• Mr. D. Gonzalo Celorio Blasco (Mexico)
• Mr. D. Jaime Labastida (Mexico)
• Mr. D. Marco Martos (Peru)
• Mr. D. Eugenio Chang-Rodríguez (United States)
• Mr. D. Alexis Márquez (Venezuela)
• Mr. D. Miguel León-Portilla (Mexico)
• Mr. D. Guillermo Ros-Zanet (Panama)
• Mr. D. Francisco Moreno Fernández (Spain)
• Ms. D.a Margarita Vázquez Quirós (Panama)
• Mr. D. Salvador Gutiérrez Ordoñez (Spain)
• Mr. D. Darío Villanueva (Spain)
• Mr. D. Francisco Javier Pérez (Venezuela)
• Mr. D. Guillermo Sánchez Borbón (Panama)
• Mr. D. Ignacio Bosque Muñóz (Spain)
• Ms. D.a María Antonia Martín Zorraquino (Spain)

Non-Spanish-speaking corresponding academics

• Mr. D. Alain Sicard (France)
• Mr. D. Keith Ellis (Canada)