Romanticism emerged as one of the most influential artistic and literary movements of the late eighteenth century, originating in Western Europe. By the mid-nineteenth century, its impact had spread across the Atlantic, reaching both Mexico and the United States.
Romanticists embraced a moral philosophy grounded in individualism. They viewed emotion and intuition as vital means for understanding the physical and spiritual world, and believed that beauty was not merely a matter of form but an intangible force capable of stirring deep emotional responses. Their work often held a reverence for nature and a nostalgic idealization of the past.
In Mexico, Romanticism extended from themes of love, death, and longing to patriotism, critiques on colonialism, and reflections on Indigenous ancestry and identity written by poets who were also political activists, journalists, and playwrights, such as Ignacio Manuel Altamirano, Manuel Carpio, José María Lacunza, José Joaquín Pesado, Guillermo Prieto, Ignacio Ramírez, and Andrés Quintana Roo.
The poet and playwright who is widely regarded as Mexico’s first Romantic writer is Ignacio Rodríguez Galván. He published politically engaged poems, such as “Profecía de Guatimoc” [Prophecy of Guatimoc], writing from a mestizo perspective. Notable works of this period include “Nocturno a Rosario” [Nocturn to Rosario] by Manuel Acuña; a collection of ballads, titled El romancero nacional [The National Romance] (Technical Office of the Ministry of Development, 1885), by Guillermo Prieto; and “El Nigromante” [The Necromancer] by Ignacio Ramírez.
While Romanticism in Mexico gave way to Modernismo, which was led by key figures like Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera and later Rubén Darío, its influence remains foundational. Romantic poets laid the groundwork for exploring identity, emotion, and national consciousness in Mexican literature.