José Martí
José Julián Martí Pérez
Poet, Essayist, and Independence Leader · 1853–1895
Who is José Martí?
José Martí was a Cuban poet, essayist, journalist, translator, philosopher, and political organizer, revered in Cuba as the "Apóstol" of national independence. Born in Havana to Spanish immigrant parents, he was jailed and exiled as a teenager for supporting Cuban independence from Spain, and spent much of his adult life abroad in Spain, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, and above all New York City, where he worked as a journalist and correspondent for Latin American newspapers. In New York he founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party in 1892 to organize and finance a renewed war for independence. His literary output includes the poetry collection "Versos Sencillos" (1891), whose verses later formed the lyrics of the song "Guantanamera," and the influential essay "Nuestra América" (1891), which argued for Latin American self-determination against both Spanish colonialism and United States expansionism. Martí returned to Cuba to join the 1895 War of Independence and was killed in his first military engagement at Dos Ríos on May 19, 1895. He is honored across Cuba and the wider Spanish-speaking world as a foundational literary and political figure.
Sources: José Martí, "Nuestra América" (1891) · José Martí, "Versos Sencillos" (1891) · José Martí, "Maestros Ambulantes," La América magazine (May 1884)