Annotated Bibliography

“Found At Sea: Jose Marti’s 11-Day Odyssey & Cuba’s War of Independence”

This article describes Marti’s trip to Cuba from the Dominican Republic in April 1895. He and 5 other Cuban revolutionaries had grand ideas of inspiring the Cuban revolution when they landed on the coast in their row boat. The author describe the intentions behind the trip, the actual trip, and the results of the expedition.

Author: Paul F. Braun

Braun is a Ph.D in the College of Journalism at the University of Florida. He conducts research focused on the seamless integration of journalism into fiction writing. He has concentrations in Florida history, Cuban history, and Caribbean literature and culture.

The information is presented chronologically, from before the expedition to their arrival in Cuba and the aftermath of their revolution. The author sites many, many sources throughout, including history books, biographies, personal experience, and Spanish and English articles and literature.

Braun, Paul F. “Found At Sea: José Martí’s 11-Day Odyssey And Cuba’s War Of Independence.” Historian74.3 (2012): 495-527. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Nov. 2016.

“Our America”

Jose Martí’s address outlines his hopes for the new nation of Cuba. His revolutionary ideals are reflected through his use of metaphors to represent Cuba, the predatory United States trying to annex Cuba, and the groups of people within Cuba itself. He introduces his hopes of Cuba becoming a new, independent, unique, and well-functioning nation. The address also includes analyses of other nation’s government systems, and the flaws in them and benefits he would like to adopt for Cuba.

Author: Jose Marti

Marti was a poet, journalist, speech writer, and book writer. This piece was published in “El Partido Liberal” in Mexico City on March 5, 1892.

Marti does not cite other sources, as the information in the address is his own ideas, thoughts, and hopes.

“Our America” is organized thematically, beginning by describing the people of Cuba and ending with his revolutionary ideas for the country.

Marti, Jose. “Our America.” Jose Marti’s Essay:. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.

“The Parallel Worlds of Jose Marti”

The purpose of this article is describe Marti’s view on the relationship between “his America”, which includes South and Latin America, and “other America”, which is the United States. His view of New York as a world epicenter of ideas and events is described in detail. Additionally, a comparison is drawn between Marti and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Stylistically and ideologically they shared many traits.

Author: Paul Giles

Giles is a non-fiction author, exploring the history of the United States and Europe and writing critical analyses of past events and important historical figures.

The article is organized thematically, beginning with Marti’s arrival to New York and first impressions, then working into his view of America as a whole, and ending with the comparison to Emerson.

Giles, Paul. “The Parallel Worlds of Jose Marti.” Radical History Review 89 (2004): 185-90. Duke University Press. Web. 4 Nov. 2016. <http://muse.jhu.edu.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/article/169486/pdf&gt;.

Videos:

“José Martí: Una vida de ofrendas a Cuba, América y el mundo”

This video is a summary of all the inspiration and things Jose Marti offered to Cuba. It is a brief and accurate overview of the popular Cuban perspective of Marti.

“Tampa: Untold Stories with E.J. Salcines – Jose Marti”

This video shows Marti’s love for and connections to Tampa. While New York was Marti’s main location within the United States, Tampa was a Cuban hub and a home to Marti. Both cities helped develop his vision and opinion of the United States.

Jose Martí – “Nuestra América”

Above: The founders of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, and organization in which Martí was highly involved. Below: The label from a Cuban cigar, one of the defining products of Cuba.

What does it mean to be Cuban? Jose Martí, famous Cuban leader and revolutionary outlines his idea of authentic Cuban life in government in his most famous essay, “Nuestra América”. During a time when Cuba was struggling for independence from Spain and fending off annexation by the United States,  Martí published this piece from New York in 1891. It defines Cuba as a highly unique nation, marvelous in its own way. Martí employs a comparison to Greece, an ancient prosperous and highly respected society-
“Our own Greece is preferable to the Greece that is not ours; we need it more”. This line culminates Martí’s main message throughout the essay- that Cubans need to recognize their own unique culture and society with a sense of pride, and use the knowledge of their country to move forward in the best way possible for Cuba.

Martí uses the symbol of an octopus to represent his fears of U.S. annexation of Cuba. He writes, “Over some republics, the octopus sleeps…the hour is near when [Cuba] will be approached by an enterprising and forceful nation that will demand intimate relations with her”. This fear was realized in 1898 with the U.S. intervention in Cuba, squashing the Cuban Revolutionaries and forcing them to lay down their arms. This song, produced and celebrated in the United States, shows the U.S. excitement about their annexation. The lyrics, written and produced in English, victimize the Cuban people and play the Americans as the role of the hero.

These lyrics degrade the Cuban people in the exact way that Martí described in his essay. He adamantly believed that “the government must be born on the country”, not imposed by a far-reaching outside country. Martí wrote in a letter during this time “que es la hora suprema”, meaning the most important time, when the Cuban people need to show their strength and resilience.

The song is called “The American’s Battle Song” rather than “The Cuban’s Battle Song”, implicating that the United States is fighting for themselves, not the Cubans, despite the message they attempt to relay through the lyrics.

Living in New York, Martí was able to bear witness to the American propaganda and comment on it for the benefit of his Cuban people.

In this excerpt from a letter written in the 1890s, Martí writes,

“They see today the benefit and the opportunity of a new effort, that is able to be defeated in the sea or on the land by the enemy, but is not able to be misused or ridiculed. They feel the sublime duty that they have today in their hands. We will have the courage to complete the extraordinary efforts that are required today for our sons

Regards to you with that respect as you should have for your long and tireless patriotic services

The Delegate,

Jose Martí”

While it is not known who he writes to in this letter, he is clearly inspiring a group of Cubans to take on the fight for independence, employing pathos to pull at their heartstrings, implying that these efforts are needed for the wellbeing of their children.

This source proves that not only did Martí care strongly for this cause for political reasons, but personally he was dedicated to improving Cuba and the Cuban people for future generations of Cubans.

Through personal letters, music, and images, unseen layers of history can be discovered, revealing truths about the intentions and thoughts of all parties involved.

 

Sources:

“Nuestra América” by Jose Martí

“Fragment of letter written by José Martí”  http://merrick.library.miami.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/chc5066/id/6/rec/1 

“Cuba Shall Be Free”  http://cdm16313.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15140coll47/id/1122/rec/2

“Founders of the Authentic Cuban Revolutionary Party”  http://merrick.library.miami.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/cubanphotos/id/805/rec/2

“Cigar Label”                                                           http://finetobacconyc.com/2011/01/15/saturday-cigar-survey-are-cuban-cigars-overrated/