This article compares two Colombian narrative works of the nineteenth century: Mercedes (1869) by Soledad Acosta de Samper and Florencio Conde (1875) by José María Samper Agudelo, in which the theme of love between a black man and a white woman serves to exemplify a process of national foundation that faces resistance in the remaining colonial socio-racial stratification and prejudices. Synopsis of each story flows together with an attempt at interpretation that focuses on the way the narrative voice draws a picture of the afrodescendant and the sense of love he is credited with. An instrumental relationship between this type of literature and the consolidation of new nations and new national identities is also proposed.