The Correspondence of Catalan Arturo Cuyás: Journalistic Reporting from New York for Cuba and Mexico (1871–1898)

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the role of the correspondent during the final quarter of the nineteenth century. In order to gain insight into the activities of correspondents in the late 19th century, it is necessary to identify a journalistic firm that was active in Spain, Cuba, Mexico and New York. Arturo Cuyás Armengol (Barcelona, 1845-Madrid, 1925) relocated to New York at the age of 19 and subsequently assumed the role of editor for La Crónica de Nueva York, El Cronista and Las Novedades in 1864. He served as a correspondent for a number of newspapers, including La Época and El Imparcial in Madrid, Diario de Barcelona, Diario de la Marina and La Voz de Cuba in Havana, and also contributed to the Mexican publication, Revista Ilustrada. In order to study his journalistic activity, the notes written by Cuyás for El Diario de la Marina, which were acquired by editors of Mexican newspapers with the intention of keeping their readers informed about the situation occurring in the American Union, have been consulted in the Hemeroteca Nacional Digital de México. His critical view of the daily political, economic, social and cultural life of the Americans led him to view that country as an enemy in the face of its expansionist policies.