CubaPLUS Magazine

They say that wherever a being of light passed, its brilliance always shines.For those interested in the history of the places linked to the life of being extraordinary, José Martí Pérez, National Hero of Cuba (Havana, 1853-Dos Ríos, 1895), the Historical Center of the capital invites you to discover some related placesin his day to the work of the brilliant intellectual, poet and Cuban independence fighter, who was also one of the most exalted thinkers of Our America.

We will not talk today about the monuments and statues created in homage to the hero, abundant not only in Havana, but also in the humblest schools and squares of the country.Whether you want to do it on your own or with the help of the programs created by the tourist entity Habaguanex, it is recommended that the visitor's contact with the Cuban Apostle begin in what was his birthplace, converted into an important museum that remembers him.in the humility of his family life, as the first scion of the family founded by the Spanish emigrants Don Mariano Martí and Doña Leonor Pérez.

Located in the old Calle Paula no.41, today the street bears the name of the progenitor of the hero. Martí only lived in it for the first two years of his early childhood. Another place linked to his history is the small Church of Santo &Aángel, located near the famous Loma del &Aángel, which appeared in the novel Cecilia Valdés, by Cirilo Villaverde.

In that temple without great architectural pretensions, but beautiful, the child was baptized with the name of José Julín in the first days of February. Another place linked to the hero is the promenade next to the Church and hospital of Paula, also referred to as the Alameda de Paula, the first promenade of the town and close to the walls of the city.

He took his first steps along this emblematic route in the company of his elders. Due to the poverty and precarious conditions of the family, the Martí Pérez had to change their residence, without having the status of owners, on numerous occasions.

For example, they lived on the streets of Industria, Jesús Peregrino... and in modest areas of the neighborhoods of La Punta and Pueblo Nuevo, among others. His father, although honest and a hard worker, earned his bread as an orderly and sergeant in the Spanish army and the salary was low. The boy Pepe had several female sisters, for which reason his livelihood had to be shared with a large family, although very close and educated under an austere moral rectitude. Some of the other houses where he lived from 1853 to 1870 no longer exist.

Later, at the age of 16, he was deported into exile, which he served first in Spain, after knowing the horrors of political prison in Cuba for his combativity in favor of independence.

The family returned to the La Punta neighborhood some time later. As an adult from there, Pepe Martí was associated with places such as Paseo de Isabel II and the Havana Prison, when he was around 13 years old, a place of recreation the first and repressive the second.

The things he saw there must have been very instructive. In Havana, with a high presence of domestic slaves, he learned the horrors of trafficking and slavery, although the trip he took at the age of nine to the rural area of Caimito del Hanábana, accompanying his father, he became aware of their degree of injustice and ignominy as human beings.

In Prado 88, he entered the Municipal Superior Primary Instruction School for Boys, which was located there.A part of this was the old San Pablo school, under the direction of the patriot Rafael María de Mendive, a key man in Martí's life, friend, second father and patron, who led him by the hand until he studied high school.

Today, meticulously restored by the program for the 500th anniversary of the founding of Havana, a primary school  honors the memory of both patriots. We will end this synthetic relationship by mentioning the old San Alejandro Academy, where plastic arts were taught, located at that time on Dragones street. Apparently he was only able to attend for a short time or never did.