José de Urcullu, iberian cultural mediator

Abstract

The reconstruction of Iberian intercultural relations throughout history must contemplate agents who, like the Spanish liberal José de Urcullu (deceased in 1852), make up the ranks of “nobodies” or “quasi-someone” (Magalhães, 2007) engaged in promoting that communication between cultures and literatures, namely through translation. Notwithstanding his relevance and interest as a mediator, as well as the socio-cultural and political roles of this Spanish exile settled in Porto, Urcullu is currently an unknown figure – or at least an unsatisfactorily known figure. The aim of this paper is, precisely, to try and rescue Urcullu from that oblivion which makes him invisible nowadays. In order to do so, different activities in which he became involved as an Iberian intercultural mediator will be brought to light while, questioning his motivations, his biography will be unveiled – so the results of an unprecedented piece of research around this manifold author and (self )translator will be offered.