Jose Marti

For other persons named Jose Marti, see Jose Marti (disambiguation).

José Martí
Birth name	José Julián Martí y Pérez
Born	January 28, 1853 Havana, Cuba
Died	May 19, 1895
Nationality	Cuban
Field	Poet, writter, journalist
Famous works	Leader on Cuba's Independence from Spain

José Julián Martí y Pérez was a leader of the Cuban independence movement from Spain and a renowned poet and writer. He is considered the Cuban people's National hero and is often referred to as the Apostle of Cuban Independence. In many literary circles he is considered the Father of Modernism predating and influencing Rubén Darío and influencing other poets such as Gabriela Mistral.

Birth And Early Years

Statue of José Martí on horseback in New York's Central Park - Anna Hyatt Huntington, 1959

José Martí was born on January 28, 1853, in Havana, to a Spanish father Mariano Martí Navarro and Leonor Pérez Cabrera, a native of the Canary islands. Martí's father was a sergeant in the Spanish Army who was transferred to Cuba in 1850 However, once in Cuba, Martí's father changed jobs often. Martí was the oldest brother to seven sisters, two of which died when Martí was young. His family was poor, so his sisters would sew to make money and Martí would help his father with his paperwork for his job.

Martí was enrolled at St. Pauls's School, which was a branch of the Municipal School for Boys in Havana (a local public school). Herel, he met Rafael María de Mendive, a very influential person in Martí's political thoughts. Mendive was a famous poet, teacher, editor and patriot who firmly believed in Cuban independence. He taught Martí to appreciate poety and literature, and urged him to become aware of the political and social situation in Cuba.

Aside from being a great writer, poet, translator, diplomat and journalist, José Martí was also a painter. In 1867, he enrolled at the Professional School for Painting and Sculpting of Havana to take drawing classes. He hoped to succeed on this work, but was unable.

In 1869, he published his first political writings in the only edition of the newspaper El Diablo Cojuelo. That same year he published "Abdala," a patriotic drama in verse form in the one-volume La Patria Libre. His famous sonnet "10 de octubre" was also written during that year, which was published later in his school newspaper.

Despite this success, in March 1969, colonial authorities shut down the school, interrupting Martí's studies. He came to resent Spanish rule of his homeland at a young age; likewise, he developed a hatred of slavery, which was still practiced in Cuba.

In October 1869, he was arrested, then incarcerated in the national jail following an accusation of treason from the Spanish government. More than four months later, Martí assumed responsibility of the charges and was condemned to six years in prison. His mother tried arduously to free her son (who was still a minor at the time, at 16 years old) by writing letters to the government; his father went to a lawyer friend for legal support, but all efforts failed. Eventually Martí fell ill; his legs were severely lacerated due to the chains attached to him. Therefore, he was transferred by the General to another part of Cuba known as Isla de Pinos instead of further imprisonment. Following that, they decided to repatriate him to Spain.

Bust of José Martí in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida

Years of exile

In Spain, he studied law and wrote articles on the wrongs of Spanish rule in Cuba, including "El presidio político en Cuba" in 1871.

After spending some time in Spain, Martí completed his studies, graduated with a bachelor of arts, and obtained his license in civil rights. He then traveled to France, where he spent some time before secretly returning to Cuba under an assumed name in 1877. He was unable to obtain any employment until he accepted a job as a professor of history and literature in Guatemala City.

In 1878, he returned to Havana and found a job there. His son, Jose Francisco was born there. However, the next year, he was arrested and deported to Spain again. His wife and son remained in Cuba.

In 1880, Martí moved to New York City serving as a joint consul there for Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina. He mobilized the Cuban exile community, especially in Ybor City (the Latin quarter of Tampa) and Key West, Florida, to revolution and independence from Spain, while lobbying to oppose U.S. annexation of Cuba, which some American politicians desired.

In January 1892 he founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party with the purpose of gaining independence for both Cuba and Puerto Rico.

In 1894, he left planning to go to Cuba and fight for revolution, but was intercepted in Florida.

Statue of José Martí, Parque Central, Havana, by José Vilalta Saavedra, 1905

Return to Cuba

On March 25, 1895, José Marti published the Manifesto of Montecristi together with Máximo Gómez, proclaiming Cuban independence, an end to all legal distinctions between the races, friendship with Spaniards who did not oppose the independence, and war with all who stood in the way of independence.

On April 11, 1895, Martí landed in Cuba with a small force of rebel exiles, including the General Máximo Gómez y Báez. Upon reuniting with the Ejercito Libertador, Martí was given the grade of Major General. In the early days of May, he and Gómez met at La Mejorana with Major General Antonio Maceo Grajales, who was second in command of the Army after Gómez. Nobody really knows what was discussed, the only record being Martí's diary, and the pages concerning that day were missing.

Death

José Martí was killed in battle with Spanish troops at the Battle of Dos Ríos on May 19, 1895. Gómez had recognized that the Spaniards had a strong position between palm trees, so he ordered to disengage. Martí was alone and seeing a young courier ride by he said: "¡Joven, a la carga!" meaning, "Young man, let's charge!" This was around midday, and he was, as always, dressed in a black jacket, riding a white horse, which made him an easy target for the Spanish. The young trooper, Angel de la Guardia,lost his horse and returned to report the loss. The Spanish took possession of the body, buried it close by, then exhumed the body upon realization of its identity. They are said not to have burned him because they were scared that the ashes would get into their throats and asphyxiate them. He is buried in Cementerio Santa Efigenia in Santiago de Cuba. Many have argued that Maceo and others had always spurned Martí for never participating in combat, which may have compelled Martí to that ill-fated suicidal two-man charge. Some of his "Versos sencillos" bore premonition: "Que no me entierren en lo oscuro / A morir como un traidor / Yo soy bueno y como bueno / Moriré de cara al sol." ("May they not bury me in darkness / to die like a traitor / I am good, and as a good man / I will die facing the sun.")

As a Translator

José Martí

José Martí is usually honored as the great poet, patriot and martyr of Cuban Independence, but he was also a translator of some note. Although he translated literary material for the sheer joy of it, much of the translating he did was imposed on him by economic necessity during his many years of exile in the United States. Martí learned English at an early age, and began translating at thirteen. He continued translating for the rest of his life, including his time as a student in Spain, although the period of his greatest productivity was during his stay in New York from 1880 until he returned to Cuba to die on the battlefield against the Spaniards in 1895.

In New York he was what we would today call a "freelance" as well as an "in house" translator. He translated several books for the publishing house of D. Appleton, and did a series of translations for newspapers. As a revolutionary activist in Cuba's long struggle for independence he translated into English a number of articles and pamphlets supporting that movement.

There was clearly a dichotomy in Martí's feeling about the kind of work he was translating. Like many professionals, he undertook for money translation tasks which had little intellectual or emotional appeal for him. De la Cuesta illustrates this nicely with a quotation in which Martí reflects on his translation projects in February 1883, writing to his sister Amelia: Anoche puse fin a la traducción de un libro de lógica que me ha parecido - a pesar de tener yo por maravillosamente inútiles tantas reglas pueriles - preciosísimo libro, puesto que con el producto de su traducción puedo traer a mi padre a mi lado. (Last night I put an end to the translation of a book of logic that has seemed me - in spite of having I by marvelously useless so many childish rules - very precious book, since with the product of his translation I can bring my father beside me).

Although Martí never presented a systematic theory of translation nor did he write extensively about his approach to translation, he did jot down occasional thoughts on the subject which are of value: yo creo que traducir es transpensar ... traducir es pensar en español lo que en su idioma ellos (los autores) pensaron ... traducir es estudiar, analizar, ahondar. (I believe that to translate is transpensar... translating is to think in Spanish what in its language they (the authors) thought... to translate is to study, to analyze, to deepen). His awareness of the translator's dilemma of the faithful versus the beautiful is evidenced in his belief that la traducción debe ser natural para que parezca como si el libro hubiese sido escrito en la lengua al que lo traduces, que en esto se conocen las buenas traducciones and ve pues el cuidado con que hay que traducir, para que la traducción pueda entenderse y resulte elegante - y para que el libro no quede, como tantos libros traducidos, en la misma lengua extraña en que estaba. (Translation should be natural so that seem as if the book had been writing in the tongue al that you translate it, that in this the good translations are known and sees therefore the care with which one must translate, so that the translation can be understood and turn out to be elegant - and so that the book remain not, as so many books translated, in the same strange tongue in which was). .

As a Journalist

Martí was much involved in writing for Spanish-speaking audiences about the assassination attempt and eventual death of President Garfield in 1881. Using several New York newspapers as sources, Martí took the basic accounts and translated them, but also added personal touches which in his view were necessary to convey the appropriate emotional tone to a Latin audience. In so doing he showed his skill as a translator as well as his creative abilities as a journalist and author.

As A Diplomat

Martí was also a diplomat in his years in exile in New York, acting as consul for several Latin American countries and conducting their business in that city as well as at various conferences in Washington. He wrote for the major newspaper La Nación of Buenos Aires, and his candid commentaries for that paper during the 1889-1890 First Inter-American Conference in Washington provide a neat counterbalance to the dry official documentation. Martí obviously had access to behind-the-scenes sources (especially from the Argentine side), and his columns were sprinkled with almost gossipy references to what the various delegations said to (and about) each other in private. His commentary on the strains between the host US delegation and the aggressively independent Argentine delegation are especially illuminating.

Legacy

The Spanish-American War ended approximately three years after his death. His best and most revered works were his books for children, La Edad de Oro ("The Golden Age") being the most widely read, and his poetry. Several of the verses from his collection of poems Versos Sencillos were later put to music as "Guantanamera," which has become one of Cuba's most recognizable melodies based on a traditional folk tune.

José Martí Airport in "La Havana"

José Martí International Airport in Havana and the town Martí were named after this leader of Cuban independence, whilst many towns in Cuba have streets named after him. The José Martí Memorial dominates the Plaza de la Revolución in Havana.

José Martí Park, Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, contains a life-size statue of Martí. It is located on the site of the home of famous Afro-Cuban patriot Paulina Pedrosa, Martí's residence in Ybor City. It was here where Martí forgave the Spanish spy who tried to poison him. Martí Park and statue stand further down the block from the mammoth Ybor Cigar Factory complex, where from the ornate wrought iron porch, Martí urged cigar workers to join the fight against the Spanish dominating Cuba. The Park is technically Cuban soil, as it was purchased by Cuba in 1957. The Tampa Parks Department has confirmed this (USF Oracle, 4/27).

There is a memorial and bust of Martí on the Northeast corner of Bayview Park, in Key West, Florida, which bears the inscription, "THE CUBAN LIBERTY APOSTLE WISHED TO OFFER TO THE PEOPLE OF KEY WEST WHAT WAS LEFT OF HIS HEART. THIS MEMORIAL PERPETUATES HIS DESIRE."

There is also a bust of Martí in Ybor City located in front of the Cuban Club.

The United States sponsors an anti-communist broadcast service aimed at Cuba, named Radio Martí after Martí'.

Some believe that Martí and Carmen (Carmita) Miyares de Mantilla had a child in 1880 when he was separated from his wife. [1] The child, María Mantilla, in turn had children, one of whom was the actor Cesar Romero.

Although often attributed to other revolutionaries, Martí was the first to coin the quotation "Es mejor morir a pie que vivir arrodillado." i.e., "It is better to die standing up than to live kneeling down."^{[citation needed]}

Selected bibliography

• Ismaelillo (1882) ISBN 9780916727420
• Nuestra America (Our America) (1891)
• Obras Completas (Complete Works) 73 Volumes (1936-53)
• Selected Writings ISBN 9780142437049
• Versos Libres (Free Verses) (1885)
• Versos Sencillos (Simple Verses) (1891) ISBN 9780786423866

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Goodnough, David. José Martí: Cuban Patriot and Poet. Hispanic biographies. Springfield, New Jersey: Enslow Publishers, 1996. ISBN 9780894907616.
• Martí, José, Deborah Shnookal, and Mirta Muñiz. José Martí Reader: Writings on the Americas. 40 Years of the Cuban Revolution, 1959-99. Melbourne: Ocean Press, 1999. ISBN 9781875284122.
• Montero, Oscar. José Martí: An Introduction. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. ISBN 9781403962874.

External links

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