Unpublished Letters from José Martí Familly Discovered
Two of the letters were written from Mexico by Mariana Salustiana Martí Pérez —known as Ana— and addressed to one of Martí’s sisters Leonor Patrona, at the time living in Havana, sometime shortly after April 22, 1874. The other was written by José Marti’s mother, Leonor Pérez Cabrera, from Havana and addressed to her daughter Amelia who at the time was living in Mexico; the letter was sent in December 1876.
The three letters reveal several unknown family details regarding José Martí’s sisters and mother in a period, between 1874 and 1877, when little is known about Marti.
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.
José Martí's life-long dedication to the cause of Cuban independence and his passionate belief in democracy and justice has made him a hero for all Cubans, a symbol of unity, the "Apostle", a great leader. His ultimate goal of building a democratic, just, and stable republic in Cuba and his obsession with the practical execution of this goal led him to become the most charismatic leader of the 1895 colonial revolution. His work with the Cuban émigré community, enlisting the support of Cuban workers and socialist leaders to form the Cuban Revolutionary Party, put into motion the Cuban war of 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.
