Maria Cristina Fragas

Maria Cristina Fragas (July 24, 1856 – April 20, 1936), known by her pen name, Cristina Ayala, was an Afro-Cuban writer and poet.

Biography

The daughter of a Creole mother who was enslaved and an unknown father, she was born free in Güines, Cuba, on July 24, 1856. She did not marry until 1912, when she wed Cecilio Larrondo.

A collection of her work, Ofrendas Mayabequinas, was published in 1926 with a foreword by Valentin Cuesta Jimenez.

Recognition

After her death, the town council of Güines named a street in her honour. The street was renamed after the Cuban Revolution and no longer exists.