Summary
Highlights
José Julián Martí Pérez was born in Havana, Cuba, on January 28, 1853, the eldest of eight children. He began his education in 1865 and was significantly influenced by his school director, Mendive, and his friend, Fermín Valdés. In 1869, he published his first political writings in 'El Cojuelo', marking the beginning of his political and social consciousness that would impact Cuba, Spain, and the world.
On March 4, 1870, at age 17, Martí was sentenced to six years in prison for his involvement with independence groups. Due to his parents' efforts, he was deported to Spain on January 15, 1871. There, he studied at the Universities of Madrid and Zaragoza, publishing 'Adúltera' and earning degrees in law, philosophy, and literature. Despite his affection for Spain, he condemned its colonial policies, demanding Spain acknowledge its errors in Cuba through his work 'La República Española de la Revolución Cubana'.
After Spain, Martí briefly went to Paris, then New York, arriving in Veracruz, Mexico, on February 8, 1875. In Mexico, he met Carmen Zayas Bazán, who would become his wife. On August 31, 1878, Martí returned to Havana, Cuba, and became involved in revolutionary activities, co-founding and becoming vice-president of the Central Revolutionary Cuban Club. However, his time in Cuba was short-lived; on September 17, he was arrested and deported to Spain again.
On November 30, 1887, Martí founded and was elected president of an executive commission to organize revolutionary activities. He also established the newspaper 'Patria' on March 14. By mid-1894, he accelerated preparations for 'Plan Fernandina', aiming for a short war to liberate Cuba. On January 28, 1895, Martí signed the order for the uprising. He arrived in Cuba on April 11, 1895, and four days later, at a meeting led by Gómez, he was granted the rank of Major General for his contributions to the revolution.
On May 19, 1895, during a battle against the Spanish, Martí, accompanied only by his aide Ángel de la Guardia, rode towards a group of hidden Spanish soldiers. He was fatally shot three times, ending his life. Martí was not only a great patriot and thinker but also a revolutionary in Spanish literature.
Martí was a pioneer and precursor of the Modernist movement, recognized for his simple, fluid style, and personal, intense imagery. His 1882 work, 'Ismaelillo', is a landmark in modernist poetry. Unlike many contemporaries, he rejected artificial language and was ambivalent towards Parnassianism. He championed Hispanic American culture and artistic liberation, using natural and clear language without superfluous adornments or foreign words. Martí believed poetry should be utilitarian and a social catalyst, rooted in reality to express generous sentiment or external ideas.
José Martí made a crucial contribution to 19th-century Latin American intellectual and artistic life as a precursor of Modernism. His influence extended to Spain and resonates to this day. His literary art transcended pure aesthetics, as he presented Latin American reality through his journalism, poetry, and children's writing, seeking the hidden causes of their problems and potential solutions, prioritizing a pan-Latin American identity over narrow nationalisms.