("Abdala" is a work about the independence of Cuba and one...)
"Abdala" is a work about the independence of Cuba and one of the key texts of modernism. The action takes place in Islamic country in which, faced with a foreign threat, Abdala, a protagonist, decides to go to war.
(While written with delicate simplicity for children to un...)
While written with delicate simplicity for children to understand, Martí's talent for description makes "Los zapaticos de rosa" so vivid, it is as though the scenes were painted with a brush. This captivating book, masterfully illustrated by Lulu Delacre, is dedicated with tenderness to the young readers for whom José Martí wrote this beautiful poem.
("Simple Verses" (Spanish: Versos sencillos) is a poetry c...)
"Simple Verses" (Spanish: Versos sencillos) is a poetry collection by Cuban writer and political activist José Martí. Published in October 1891, it was the last of Martí's works to be printed before his death in 1895. Originally written in Spanish, it has been translated into over ten languages.
Jose Julian Marti was a Cuban poet, writer and revolutionist, who through his efforts tried to free Cuba from Spain.
Background
Jose Julian Marti was born on 28th of January 1853 in Havana region of Cuba.
His father, Mariano Martí y Navarro, a Spaniard, a policeman, and sometimes a tailor of uniforms, had arrived in Cuba in the mid-1800s as part of a Spanish battalion. He married Leonor Pérez y Cabrera, who came from the Canary Islands; they settled in Havana.
Education
There is no exact information about the formal education received by Marti though it is stated that he had natural abilities in art. During exile in Spain in the year 1871, Marti studied law at the Central University of Madrid and afterward at the University of Zaragoza. He got his degree in the year 1874.
By the time Marti turned the age of 16, his works of writings were getting published. He had also developed political alertness during this time from the happening going on around him. He put up his passion for writing and created a newspaper ‘La Patria Libre’ which he used to publish his writings and poems more about a liberated state. The content of the newspaper was not taken well by the authority and Marti was arrested the same year. He was punished for hard labor for a span of six years. For some reasons, in the year 1871, he was freed and banished to Spain. During his time there, he published his tormented experiences in jail and published them in the form a pamphlet titled ‘Political Imprisonment in Cuba’.
He continued his study in law and after getting his degree, he moved to Mexico where he continued his fight to free Cuba. He became part of several newspapers and artistic communities there but later went to Guatemala in the year 1877. There he became a professor at the Universidad Nacional and taught history, philosophy, and literature.
After the war ended for the freedom of Cuba called ‘The Ten Years’ War’ in the year 1878, Marti moved to Cuba with his wife Carmen. Marti wanted to work in the field of law but when the government resisted, he was forced to work as a teacher. The following year in 1879, Marti was once again arrested as a conspirator when a fight broke out between the slaves, farmers against the Spanish group. He was made to leave Cuba once again.
By the year 1881, Marti had finally settled in New York and wrote for several newspapers there in English and Spanish. He also wrote a column in Buenos Aires' ‘La Nación’. His writings were very well received by the audience due to his literary expertise and knowledge in politics. Some of his most famous essays include ‘Our America’ written in the year 1881.
Marti also worked as a diplomat to many Latin American Countries like Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. All this time, he had not forgotten the state of Cuba. He made contacts with other Cubans who were exiled to the US.
Marti began to lead the Cuban Revolutionary Party in 1892 and started to create strategies to occupy Cuba. He had already started preparing plans for a new Cuban government and it was decided that the government will not be controlled by one particular class of people. He joined with two nationalist generals from the Cuban war named Antonio Maceo and Máximo Gómez and together they started to raise fun for their plans ahead. Three years later in the year 1895, Marti initiated to Cuba on 31st of January and reached their destination on 11th of April to start their fight. During this battle, Marti was killed by the Spanish in Dos Rios on 19th of May. He was 42 years of age then.
Marti had developed political alertness at a very early age. He wanted to be a part of the revolutionary efforts to free Cuba from Spain. Martí opposed slavery and criticized Spain for failing to abolish it.
Views
Quotations:
“Liberty is the right of every man, to be honest, to think and to speak without hypocrisy.”
“Other famous men, those of much talk and few deeds, soon evaporate. Action is the dignity of greatness.”
“An insatiable appetite for glory leads to sacrifice and death, but innate instinct leads to self-preservation and life.”
Personality
Marti was creative. He was also a great orator.
Connections
Around the year 1877, Marti married Carmen Zayas Bazán. On November 22, 1878 his son José Francisco, known fondly as "Pepito", was born.