

It incorporates some of his thoughts, especially on religion and self-sacrifice, to better convey the idea of his “myth.” The book originally appeared in 1929, and it traces Martí’s life from birth to death. This is a well-written but hagiographical account of Martí’s life, written by one of Cuba’s most important writers. After the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, on the other hand, his biographers spoke of his “revolutionary” life, his commitment to Cuba’s independence, and his anti-imperialist thought ( Martínez Estrada 1967, Toledo Sande 1996). They also explore the “intimate” side of Martí in an effort to humanize him after so much mythologization ( Zacharie de Baralt 1945, Quesada y Miranda 1939). He was regarded as the “apostle” of Cuba ( Mañach 1933), the “saint of America” ( Rodríguez-Embil 1941), and a “myth” ( Hernández Catá 1970). During the Republic, however, Martí’s biographies became highly hagiographical, with some using religious motifs to exalt his image.
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They generally praised Martí’s organizational skills, his intellectual abilities, and his plan to free his country. They were written in English for an audience that wanted to know more about the present war and its leaders. They emphasized his heroism and his plans for a new nation ( Reno 1899). Martí’s first biographical notes appeared in American newspapers during the last war of independence and immediately after his death in Cuba. I will concentrate on key aspects of his legacy, his biographies, his literary work, his political thought, and special topics that critics have explored. Due to the numerous citations and references to his work, this is only a survey of the most representative work that has been produced on his life and writings. This article covers Martí’s life and influential writings on Cuba, the United States, and Latin America. Given Martí’s importance in Cuba, it comes as no surprise that there are so many biographies about his life and a vast bibliography on his work.

His thoughts and life were praised in every major political speech, and his image was reproduced in multiple forms. His work went through numerous editions (Quesada y Aróstegui). He was praised for being not only a hero, but also one of Latin American’s leading thinkers and literary figures. During this period, Martí reached a political and literary prominence that few other men could aspire to or claim. He was the main organizer of Cuba’s last war of independence and although he was immensely popular among the émigré community in the United States, he was little known in Cuba, until the establishment of the Cuban Republic in 1902. He also served for a brief period of time as a foreign representative of several governments (Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay). In New York, where he lived nearly fifteen years, he supported himself by writing chronicles for US and Latin American newspapers such as The Hour and The Sun of New York, La Opinión Nacional of Caracas, and La Nación of Buenos Aires. José Martí (b. 1853–d. 1895) was born in Havana, Cuba, and lived much of his life in exile: in Spain, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, and the United States.
