The great national poet of Panama, often referred to simply as "El Poeta" (The Poet), Ricardo Miró came of age during the war-torn years that led to the founding of the Republic of Panama and held diplomatic and government posts in the young nation. His best-known poem, "Patria" (Fatherland, 1909), helped to instill a sense of national pride in a people whose country had come into existence with the aid of, and was dominated by, the United States. He also celebrated the natural beauty of the land. His work was at least heavily influenced by the Modernista (modernist) movement, though critics are divided as to whether he should be classified as a member of that movement.

Ricardo José Ricardo Miró Denis was born in Panama City on 5 November 1883; at that time what is today the Republic of Panama was still part of Colombia. Although his parents...