A selection of testimonials from people who knew Jose Marti at different times in his life and from different points of view. Author: rebellious youth
“(…) What was Marty like, especially physically? How did he say what caused such admiration? How did your deal go? What are their habits and tastes? What did those who knew him think? And then we must turn to those who had the honor of being his frequent guest.
With these words contained in the volume’s prologue I met martyits author, historian and senior fellow at the Center for Mars Research Carmen Suárez León, arouses curiosity about the figure of the National Hero: it encourages us to search for him, invites us to define him, and through exquisite stories allows us to imagine his voice, his forms, his gestures, his light. .
The teacher adds in his introduction: “Only through these friends, or even through these casual acquaintances, can we learn about his gastronomic tastes, about his gift for conversation, about his excellent manner, about the impact of his voice, about the quality of his look or about his mobility of her hands. . It seems that Marty’s most memorable trait and most reverent memory is his manner of speaking, both in his speeches and in his daily routine or family conversations.
About thirty testimonies of those who knew Jose Marti at different times of his life and from different points of view and criteria make up the text. Anecdotes, stories, modest reminiscences, or endless reminiscences provide the strokes of a portrait that becomes more accurate as one reads. From the pages comes a simple man of small stature, an indomitable and delightful orator, a faithful friend, a scientist, an indefatigable revolutionary with fragile health, a male child with his extraordinary ability to wonder, a restless creature, an incomparable intellectual …
Every piece of evidence concerns fiber. Movement. “These are texts taken from various periodicals – Revista Bimestre Cubano and Diario de la Marina, among others – and, for the most part, from an extensive compilation made by Revista Cubana between 1951 and 1952,” said Suarez Leon. (Blood and Marble: Marty, Parnassus, Baudelaire; José Marty and Victor Hugo in Faithful Modernity).
Thus we find the words of Enrique Collazo, Juan Gualberto Gómez, Alfonso Mercado, Enrique Loinas del Castillo, Maria Mantilla i Miyares, José Miro, Amado Nervo, Maximo Gomez, Ruben Dario, Blanche Zachary de Baralt, Manuel Sanguili, Diego Vicente. Tejera, José Maria Vargas Vila and Enrique José Varona, just to name a few.
Many of his passages are real gems. We can find, for example, one belonging to the writer, poet and intellectual Diego Vicente Tejere, which explains the Master’s unique personality: “He who has not heard Marty in private does not realize the full power of enchantment that can be in the human word. And the categorical recollection of Enrique José Varona: “His word was something alive that poured life.”
It is also worth remembering the story of Ruben Dario. The Nicaraguan poet and writer describes his meeting in Hardmand Hall with the Apostle, who was to deliver a speech: “(…) Suddenly, in a room full of light, I found myself in the arms of a small man with a radiant face, sweet and powerful voice at the same time, and it said one word to me: Son! (…)”.
In a warmer tone, the memory of Alfonso Mercado, one of the sons of his dear Mexican friend Manuel Mercado, sounds: “In an old, spacious and old carriage, we rode Marty, my older brother and other brothers. Halfway to the train station, I thought that Marty had been asked for an autograph, and immediately demanded it. Then he, showing me pity for his forgetfulness, hurriedly took out a small card and, with discomfort from the crowd in which we walked inside the car and despite its bumps, wrote these words, which I carefully preserved: “Alfonso, faithful: You want at any cost autograph from me. The only autograph, son, worthy of a man is the one he leaves written with his work. You, José Marti.”
I met marty, originally published in 1998, is a charming volume. In its pages we can discover an exceptional person behind black and white and still photographs. We can almost touch it, hear it, feel it. This is one of those headlines that hugs your chest as you read it. It’s a book, hug.
Source: Juventud Rebelde
