Cuban Students Presented with 2009 Jose Marti Awards
The Jose Marti Research Center (CEM) presented the winners of this year’s children and youth art contests.
The children’s contest winners were Sofia Albizucampo (drawing) and Rocío Hernandez (composition), while special mention went to Talía Domínguez Kassas and Evelín Rodríguez.
The winners in the youth category were Reinaldo Izquierdo Blanco and Laura Romero Martínez.
The ceremony also featured a book launch of Ensayos del Centro, by Carmen Suarez Leon from the CEM. The book gathers several articles by Suarez Leon on the work of Jose Marti and is one of the new works to be offered by the CEM at the upcoming International Book Fair in Havana.
Taimyr Sánchez Castillo was presented with the 2009 Jose Marti Prize for Research for her work investigating some of Jose Marti’s less known journalistic endeavours.
José Martí was born on January 28, 1853 and died in military action on May 19, 1895. He is a Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. In his short life, he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist. Through his writings and political activity, he became a symbol for Cuba's bid for independence against Spain in the 19th century, and is referred to as the "Apostle of Cuban Independence". He also fought against the threat of United States expansionism into Cuba. From adolescence, he dedicated his life to the promotion of liberty, political independence for Cuba and intellectual independence for all Spanish Americans.
Martí is considered one of the great turn-of-the-century Latin American intellectuals. His written works consist of a series of poems, essays, letters, lectures, a novel, and even a children's magazine. He wrote for numerous Latin American and American newspapers; he also founded a number of newspapers himself.
The concepts of freedom, liberty, and democracy are prominent themes in all of his works. Martí dedicated his life to the cause of Cuban independence. His foresight into the future, shown in his warnings against American political interests for Cuba, was confirmed by the swift occupation of Cuba by the United States following the Spanish-American War. His belief in the inseparability of Cuban and Latin American sovereignty and the expression thereof in his writings have contributed to the shape of the modern Latin American Identity. His works are a cornerstone of Latin American and political literature and his prolific contributions to the fields of journalism, poetry, and prose are highly acclaimed.
