Eulalia Bernard

Maunrice Eulalee Bernard Little (7 July 1935 – 11 July 2021), known as Eulalia Bernard, was a Costa Rican writer, poet, activist, politician, diplomat, and educator. She is considered in her country as an icon of the African descent culture. Bernard was the first Afro-Costa Rican woman to be published in her country.

Early life and education She was born in Port Limón, Costa Rica, on July 7, 1935. Her parents were Carolina Little Crosby (also known as Carolina Bernard), a teacher with a transformative vision, and Christopher Bernard Jackson, a tailor. Both were Jamaican immigrants. Her mother supported her breaking with traditional racist culture, by getting roles such as the angel in Catholic events. Later, at the Cardiff University in Wales, she did graduate studies in Linguistics and Educative Television.

Professional career Bernard was also a pioneer in the black political field within her country and the region. In the 1970s, she was a consolidated activist of the African diaspora. In the 1970s she released a recording of her poetry and the fact that she chose a record instead of the established print media to publish her poetry caused quite some controversy among the Latin American academics.

In 1974, Bernard served as a cultural attaché in Jamaica. That same year, she proposed and led the "Educative Plan for Limón" at the Ministry of Public Education. The goal of this Plan was to have bilingual and bicultural education. However, the plan was interrupted because the Minister of the moment argued that the racism was a problem that was being imported to the country, as some personalities such as Harriet Tubman were part of the posters for the campaign. For the Plan, Bernard has taken advantage or her knowledge in linguistics. In 1982, with her book Ritmohéroe, Bernard became the first Afro-Costa Rican woman with a printed publication. The poetry in the book focused on her hometown Limon. In a poem on her Jamaican cousin (Spanish: Requiem a mi primo Jamaiquino) in Ritmoheroe of 1982, she deals with the difficulties of her cousin to obtain citizenship of Costa Rica despite having worked the lands of the country. Many of her poems have text and melodies intertwined and she often performed them live. Her poems in Ciénaga (2001) are often written from the perspective of "You and I". and is featured in publications on selected Afro-Latino writers.

Poetry Her writing was mostly poetry:

1976: Negritud, first publication in format of a vinyl record 1982: Ritmohéroe, with 4 editions between 1982 and 1996 1991: My Black King, bilingual poetry collection 1997: Griot 2001: Ciénaga, 5 editions between 2001 and 2006 2011: Tatuaje

A philosophy essay:

1981, "Nuevo ensayo sobre la existencia y la libertad política", two editions in 1981, translated as "New Essay on the Existence and the Political Liberty"

Achievements and awards

First Afro-Costa Rican woman being published in Costa Rica. 1991: University for Peace's Distinguished World Citizen award 1996: Griot award from the Pan-African Cultural Committee, in recognition of her contribution to the spiritual and cultural health of the community 1998: Leadership prize by Howard University 1999: dedication of the Festival of Flowers of the African Diaspora (first edition)in recognition of a life dedicated to the defense of the rights of black and afrodescendent people. 2009: prize Limón Roots by Limón province. 2011: dedication of the Festival of Flowers of the African Diaspora 2021: dedication of the Festival of Flowers of the African Diaspora, posthumous tribute

Links Library of Congress - Eulalia Bernard reading and commenting on her work