"BELLEZAS DE ANDALUCÍA" AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD: PORTRAITS AND IMPRESSIONS IN NEWSPAPER ARTICLES BY AMANTINA COBOS

Abstract

This article analyses the journalistic work of Amantina Cobos, a prominent journalist, writer, and teacher whose work offers a valuable portrait of Andalusia in the early 20th century. Through a corpus of nine selected texts, consisting of articles and a poem, cultural cartography of the region is traced, highlighting issues such as culture, education, the role of women, social identity, and descriptions of the landscape and heritage. The importance of the press as a means of understanding the social and cultural dynamics of the time is underlined, as well as the importance of rescuing the texts of women creators. An analysis of their articles from a gender perspective (Luna, 1996) concludes that Cobos’ journalistic work challenged the social norms of her time by capturing both the tangible heritage and cultural values of Andalusia. Furthermore, her emphasis on female education and culture reinforces her role as an advocate of social progress. This paper also offers an insight into the creative process behind her lost book Bellezas de Andalucía, proposing that her articles constitute an implicit draft of that work. Overall, Cobos’s production not only enriches the historical and literary understanding of Andalusia but also vindicates the legacy of women in the public sphere, tracing in her articles an Andalusian and female cultural cartography.