The Cuban Republic and José Martí: Reception and Use of a National Symbol
Lexington Books, 2005
Editors: Mauricio Font and Alfonso Quiroz
José Martí contributed greatly to Cuba’s struggle for independence from Spain with words as well as revolutionary action. Although he died before the formation of an independent republic, he has since been hailed as a heroic martyr inspiring Cuban republican traditions. During the twentieth century traditionally nationalistic literature has reinforced an uncritical idealization of Martí and his influence. New approaches have recently explored the formation, reception, uses and abuses of the Martí myth. The essays in this volume analyze the influence of José Martí – poet, scholar and revolutionary – on the formation of often-competing national identities in post-independence Cuba. By exploring the diverse representations and interpretations of Martí, they provide a critical analysis of the ways in which his political and literary legacies have been used to advance contrasting versions of contemporary Cuban reality.
Table of Contents:
• “Otro gallo cantaría: Essay on the First Cuban Republicanism”
Rafael Rojas
• “The ‘Apostle’ in Stone: Nationalism and Monuments in Honor of José Martí”
João Felipe Gonçalves
• “The Struggle to Redefine Martí and “Cuba Libre” in the 1920s”
Lillian Guerra
• “’Rights are Taken, Not Pleaded:’ José Martí and the Cult of the Recourse to Violence in Cuba”
Rafael E. Tarrago
• “Martí in Cuban Schools”
Alfonso W. Quiroz
• “José Martí, Pilar de la Revolución Cubana”
Paul Estrade
• “José Martí Against Race”
Oscar Montero
• “Language, Nation, and Empire: José Martí’s Strategic Multilingualism”
Laura Lomas
• “Chronicling Empire: José Martí on the Avenue of the Americas”
Antonio Lopez
• “Construyendo la Imagen Literaria de Martí en los Estados Unidos”
Ivan A. Schulman
• “José Martí en la Obra de Fernando Ortiz”
José Matos
• “Inmigración española e imaginario nacional en Cuba, 1900-1920”
Consuelo Naranjo Orovio
• “Martí y la Emigración Cubana de Yucatán Frente al Nacimiento de la República (1902-1925)”
Carlos E. Bojorquez Urzaiz
• “Gender Trouble: José Martí and Juana Borrero”
Ottmar Ette