Our annual tribute to José Martí on his birthday. Founding father of Cuba and leader of its last war of independence, José Martí (1853-1895) is also a towering figure in Cuban and Latin American literature. In his short life, he excelled as a poet, essayist, journalist, and revolutionary. Throughout the 1880’s and early 1890’s Martí worked as a foreign correspondent in New York City and his masterful narratives were the eyes through which much of Latin America saw the United States.
As in past years, we will gather in front of his iconic statue in Central Park (pictured below). Those attending should bring a white rose to lay in our traditional basket. The legendary songs, El Mambí and Clave a Martí, will be performed by Lilia Junco. Commemorative words and reading by Aymara de Cárdenas, director of our History Program.
To read Aymara de Cárdenas’s commemorative words and reading on January 28th, click below:
http://www.cubanculturalcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Jose-Marti.pdf
José Martí Statue
in Central Park
59th Street, off 6th Ave., NYC
PUBLIC GATHERING
(NO RESERVATION
REQUIRED)
PLEASE NOTE:
The ofrecimiento will be complemented by this Thursday’s presentation at the New York Public Library of The Making of Cuban New York, by Lisandro Pérez, who will be interviewed by Martí scholar Esther Allen. They will focus on key aspects of his book and discuss how these might shed new light on Martí’s life in New York. For details and reservations, please click here:
http://www.cubanculturalcenter.org/events/2018/12/the-making-of-cuban-new-york/
For links to songs cited above and Cuban historical footage from 1895,
please click below:
El Mambí
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKNhccD941I
Clave a Martí
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UafEcFOc_tw
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