TAMPA, Fla. — We're highlighting the impact Latinos have had on the Tampa Bay area for Hispanic Heritage Month. José Martí led the Cuban revolution against Spanish rule.
Here’s the story of the Cuban liberator told by Rodney Kite-Powell with the Tampa Bay History Center.
“Jose Martí is known as the apostle of Cuban liberty. He’s also considered one of the George Washington and Thomas Jefferson of Cuba,” said Kite-Powell.
Martí is the most notable figure in Cuba’s 1895 revolution.
“He was kind of a thought leader, poet. He was actually exiled to this country. He lived in New York in the 1880s,” he continued.
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In the early 1890s, Martí came to Tampa around 20 times to raise money and support for Cuba’s revolution against Spain.
“When that revolution started in 1895, he actually went from being a poet to being a fighter,” said Kite-Powell.
Martí was killed in battle in 1895 during the beginning of the Cuban revolution, which became the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Martí’s legacy lives on as the liberator of Cuba and a symbol of independence and democracy.
José Julián Martí Pérez. He’s not just Hispanic history, he’s Tampa Bay history.
