Next to the parking lot across from Bayside Marketplace and Bayfront Park sits the bust of Rubén Darío. I was always curious about it as I passed by over the years, so I set out to learn more about it.
I discovered that this bust was installed to honor the man considered the "Prince of Spanish literature." The bust was dedicated in 1961, around the same time as other monuments to Latin American leaders in Bayfront Park. They were moved to the outskirts of the park in the 1980's when artist and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi was hired to redesign Bayfront Park.
Rubén Darío (1867-1916) was an influential Nicaraguan poet, journalist, and diplomat. He began publishing poems when he was only 14 years old. He is best known as a leader of the Spanish American literary movement known as Modernismo, which reached its height at the end of the 19th century. Darío's first major literary work was Azul ("Blue"), a collection of short stories, descriptive sketches, and verse. In 1886, he left Nicaragua and traveled the world. In 1893, he was appointed Colombian consul in Buenos Aires. While working as a correspondent for the Buenos Aires newspaper La Nación in Europe in 1898, he became concerned about the future of Spanish America after the collapse of Spain's empire in the New World. In response, he wrote what is considered his masterpiece, Cantos de vida y esperanza (1905; "Songs of Life and Hope"). In 1914, on the brink of World War I, Darío left for New York, where he contracted pneumonia. He passed away shortly after returning home to Nicaragua. Today, Darío is considered by many to be one of the greatest poets to have written in Spanish.
In addition to honoring Rubén Darío, this monument also recognizes the broader Nicaraguan community in South Florida. On September 15, 1992, Miami-Dade County Parks dedicated a park in Darío's honor. As you enter the park, you can see a large statue of Rubén Darío that was added in 1993. read more