José Martí Born in Havana

Summary

José Julián Martí Pérez was born on January 28, 1853, in Havana, Cuba, then a Spanish colony. As a teenager he became involved in the movement for Cuban independence, was imprisoned by Spanish authorities, and was later sent into exile. Martí spent much of his adult life outside Cuba, living in Spain, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, and the United States while working as a journalist, poet, essayist, teacher, and political organizer. His writings addressed independence, colonialism, race, democracy, culture, and the relationship between Latin America and the United States. In New York, Martí helped organize the Cuban Revolutionary Party and worked to unite exile communities behind a renewed independence struggle. He returned to Cuba in 1895 after the uprising began and was killed at Dos Ríos on May 19. Martí's literary work and political organizing made him a central figure in Cuban national history.