The directory «Plots»

Valdes Gabriel de la Concepcion
(1809—1844)

Gabriel de la Concepcion Valdes, known as Placido, was born to a Spanish Dancer from a relation with a black man, in 1809 in Cuba. She left him at an orphanage, as she was not able or willing to raise a child on her own. It is said that she had no concerns for the child, but he never accepted that. It was not long before his father claimed his son, and took him in to raise. It was not an easy life, as in the 1800’s free blacks did not have the mobility of the lighter colored Spanish Cuban’s. His grandmother taught him to read, and thus opened a door to what would eventually become his fame and death.

With a very limited education, he had been an avid reader of many books, and around seventeen started publishing his poems in Newspapers and literary publications. Gabrial worked his way up to journalism, spent time as a cashier for a publishing house, worked as an peinetero apprentice, crafting womens combs and ointments from tortoise shell.

He was noted as an creative and gifted poet, and his works started to be published in the La Aurora de Matanzas, the daily newspaper of Matanza, Cuba the town where he was born and raised.

Eventually Gabriel started writing political pieces in his poetry, like the poem, Death to Ceasar, against the Colonel government there.

In the “Conspiración de la Escalera”, Conspiracy of the Ladder, know for the torture of the questioned while tied to a ladder. Gabriel was found guilty of aiding in the revolt that was supposed to cause the black slaves to fight against the governemtn and take over Cuba. It has never been known if this was an actual event, or the fear that some of the colonel Government personnel had, but many of the free blacks and leaders of them had been executed by firing squad. In May 5 1844 he was executed by firing squad, although some reports I have read state it as late as June 7, 1844. There was little record of who was executed exactly when, but all that had been arrested, apparently had been found guilty and executed. It is said though that as he walked to his place in the line up to be shot, Gabriel quoted the last poem he wrote in prison, Farewell to my Mother, one of three he wrote while in. The three that he had written in Prison were; “Farewell to my Mother”, “Goodbye to my Lyre”, and “Prayer to God”.

Cuba, 1946, Gabriel de la Concepcion Valdes