José Marti should not be an occasional petal in January or May. Neither a joker in the mouth of an insensitive, nor a ceremony held on the anniversary.
A man of flesh and blood, he should never be reduced to either a shocking phrase or a repeated stanza. And there is no need to squeeze him into the not always clear epithet “The most versatile of Cubans.”
Marty should have been at the head of us all the time, lowered from his pedestal, turned into a whip against false promises, those who seize the moment, those who live on facades.
What we need as a nation is for him to become not a utilitarian star but an everyday earthly being, so that he can continue to repeat his commitment to the poor of the earth – deliberately forgotten by some – and again, without fuss, tell us about his beautiful concept of the Motherland, which certain characters are trying to trample on or turn into a chameleon.
If we need that Marty who didn’t want to be an undercover general and practically blew himself up in Cuba on his first day of battle, May 19, 1895 on the fields of Dos Rios, we also need someone who had clashes with his relatives, he smashed hearts – not only in Guatemala – he forgave those who tried to kill him with an almost complete poisoning, he always advised to sow virtue.
If the hero and politician are essential, the meticulous organizer who managed to overcome the failure of La Fernandina and gather the pines for the necessary war, no less important is the misunderstood Apostle (outside La Mehorana), the one who released the truths. as great as that expressed in the memorable letter to Gomez: A city is not founded in the way a camp is commanded.
Soon in our classes we will introduce the subject of the Teacher, with professors
able to tell jokes that shock us and make us think. Teachers talking about what their love for Carmen was like, about the conflicts and letters they exchanged with her, who did not get tired of demanding a place at home, because, as she said from her point of view, “no man ever was tainted by returning to his slave land earlier.” I urgently need to clothe and feed my wife and son.”
Day after day, between desks and outside of school, we will have to tell how Marty dressed neatly and modestly, what were the differences with Maceo, how his relationship with his sisters (he had seven of them) or how he adored Maria. Mantilla, to whom he confessed in a beautiful message: “I love my daughter.”
Special in many ways, unique in many ways, José Julián Martí Pérez is not a flawless character who has fallen out of a fantasy tale. But this imperfection makes it closer and clearer, more fragile and captivating.
Marty can’t be a bust, a date, an excuse, a speech, an appearance. Marty is the man, the heartbeat, the urgency, the wrong move warning, the exile, the ethic… the truth.
Source: Juventud Rebelde