Rafael Pombo (1833-1912), poet and translator, is an interesting example to present the intellectual exchanges carried out during the XIXth century in Colombia. It is a time characterized by the constitution of Nation-States, by a search for models to imitate in every domain, by an 'intercultural' atmosphere proper to establish relationships. During his staying in New York, for seventeen years, Pombo developed different activities and got in touch with American poets, among them William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) y Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). These relationships became an important fact to get to know a bit more about the history of translation in Colombia and about the cultural history of the country.