"Farewell to Welfare Island," one of her final poems, was written in February 1953. It was composed during her last illness and is said to be one of the only poems she wrote in English, according to her classmates. She foreshadows her death in the poem and portrays a harsher view of life. For example, she writes: "And so I die. / The certain way / Of dying." Julia de Burgos died on March 18, 1953 at the age of 36. Her body was taken to Puerto Rico where she was buried in the cemetery behind San Juan's Cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore. After her death, her friends and classmates founded the Instituto Puertorriqueño-Americano para la Cultura y las Artes (Puerto Rican American Institute for Culture and Arts) to continue her work. In 1960, this organization became known as the Federación Puertorriqueña en America (Puerto Rican Federation in America). Today, there are several organizations dedicated to preserving Julia de Burgos' memory including the Centro Cultural Julia De Burgos, which hosts an annual poetry festival in her honor; the Fund for the Arts, which awards prizes to artists living in poverty; and the Casa de la Cultura, which is a community center that offers classes and events for all ages.