Jose Marti is a somewhat mythical figure in the 21st century inasmuch he is claimed by all sides in Cuba's bizarre political mix of Communists and Capitalists, stay-at-homes and Gusanos worms in the lexicon of the The Party which teaches Cubans to hate the emigres of what it calls tHe Miami Mafia. And not without reason as the old timers in Miami are an angry bunch when it comes to modern Cuba.
You can see their point; they were the bosses before 1960 and Castro took it all from them and sixty years later they aren't over the pain of the loss and furthermore their loss has to be borne by everyone else through the mechanism of the abused embargo. Oh well, compared to Jose Matti our burdens are as nothing.
Marti was born in Havana in 1853 and spent his life advocating for independence from Spain, but at the same time he was no fan of the Monroe Doctrine and also pushed for independence from US hegemony in all of Latin America. He started his activism inn school and
was imprisoned at age 16 whee he suffered torture and confessed, as one does. Because his father was Spanish he was "repatriated" to Spain.
He spent much of his short life traveling and preaching revolution in Spain and Central America as well as Venezuela and the US. He spoke to cigar makers in Tampa and Key West where he arrived in1892. he died in battle in Cuba in 1895 and from then on he became the multiple purpose symbol of political struggle in Latin America.
The traits that Marti admired in the 19th century United States he knew seem quaint when viewed through our Tea Party steeped lens. He spoke of the way education was valued, as was the hard work of immigrants and thrift and industry of all Americans.
Marti actually suggested American democratic values be adopted in Latin America a suggestion that is rife with irony as we slip into extreme economic inequality even as Cuba herself trundles on struggling to figure out how to maintain a concept as outmoded as 21st century Communism.
Location:Key West
No comments:
Post a Comment