Isla de Puerto Rico : Nostalgia y esperanza de un mundo mejor

The initial stages of María Zambrano’s long exile (1939–1984) unfolded—following a brief stint in Mexico—on Caribbean islands: Puerto Rico and Cuba. From there, the philosopher reflects on the unfolding of events in Europe from a position of insularity that is at once physical, conceptual, and existential: the island as a category of thought. Zambrano’s writings from this period—of which *Isla de Puerto Rico* stands as a prime example—combine two seemingly antithetical concepts: nostalgia and hope. It is a nostalgia for a bygone world, lost in the maelstrom of the European war, and a hope for a better future—one that is more ethical, humane, free, and democratic—rooted in the transformation of an adverse circumstance (exile) into a source of experience that is both nourishing and restorative.