Blog 5: José Martí

As many of you can probably guess, the topic of Cuba is very important to me based on my family heritage.  Being Cuban-American is special to me and it has been a wonderful experience to learn more about it's history.

I was very excited when we started reading pieces by José Martí because of how important he is to Cuban history and Latin American literature.  His idea of a "race less nation" intrigued me when we first read about it and after the debate we had in class really made me think about if it was really possible to have a race less nation.  As much as I agree with the idea, I don't think it will ever really work.  It will take centuries from now to even be able to close to being able to ignore racial differences because of all the history of mistreatment between the people.  Even in the U.S. today we may have racial equality so all people are treated  equally, but the differences between the people are not ignored.  An example of that is African-American Heritage Month, where people remember and honor those of African descent who have done great things.  Overall, I thought his idea was a very radical one and an idea that was needed at the time.  It may not have been completely possible to do, but it gave the people of Cuba the reason they needed to band together and fight for their independence as one.  Without that push history would have been very different.

While on the subject of Martí, it reminds me of one of my favorite poems he wrote that was adapted into a song of great patriotic influence in Cuba.  The first two stanzas are:

Yo soy un hombre sincero                            I am an honest man
De donde crece la palma,                             From where the palms grow;
Y antes de morirme quiero                           Before I die I want by soul
Echar mis versos del alma.                           To shed its poetry.

Yo vengo de todas partes,                            I come from everywhere,
Y hacia todos partes voy:                             To everywhere I'm bound:
Arte soy entre las artes,                               An art among the arts,
En los montes, monte soy.                          A mountain among mountains.

This poem talks of being from the land and feeling a sense of connection to place you belong.  It became a patriotic anthem for the people after it was adapted into the song "Guantanamera" in 1929.  Later, in was reproduced by a band called The Sandpipers in 1966 that became the most successful recording.  Many others have sang this song, including Celia Cruz, Julio Iglesias, and the Buena Vista Social Club.