El articulo ** muestra, con base en la inves­tigacion de archivo, la critica literaria y los estudios culturales, que Candelario Obeso debe ser considerado, no solo como el ini­ciador de la poesia afro en Colombia, sino como un gran intelectual afro descendiente que, en medio de un ambiente de racismo, eugenismo y de dificultades economicas, trato de dar forma estetica a la realidad de la Colombia de finales del siglo XIX. PALABRAS CLAVES Intelectuales, racializa­cion, ciudadania, nacion, afrocolombia­nos, bogas, literatura, Colombia, Caribe. ABSTRACT The paper shows, based on archival re­search, literary criticism and cultural studies, that Candelario Obeso should be considered not only as the initiator of afro poetry in Colombia, but a great intellec­tual of the African-descent, in an atmos­phere of racism, eugenics and economic difficulties, took from his aesthetic bet the social, cultural and political reality life of Colombia in the late XIX century. KEY WORDS Intellectual, racialization, cit­izenship, nation, afro-Colombians, bogas, literature, Colombia, Caribbean.