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The Myth of José Martí: Conflicting Nationalisms in Early Twentieth-Century Cuba

2006; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 31; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

2161-430X

Katherine A. Bradshaw,

Latin American and Latino Studies

Guerra, Lillian. The Myth of Jose Marti: Conflicting Nationalisms in Early Twentieth-Century Cuba. Chapel HiU: University of North Carolina Press. 310 pp. $59.95. Lillian Guerra takes readers back to a time, more than a century ago, when Cuban emigres in southern Florida were radical leftists. Then, she explains why those unionized cigar factory workers and Cuban emigres of today both laid claim to mande of same revolutionary poet-journalist, best known in rest of United States as lyricist of Guantanamera. To Cubans on both sides of Florida Straits, he is much more, as indicated by tide of Guerra's book, The Myth of Jose Marti: ConflictingNationalisms in Early Twentieth-Century Cuba. It is no accident, she found, that Cubans on all points of political spectrum claim Marti. To forge an alliance for fight for Cuban independence, he intentionally developed a discourse of national unity that appealed to all of possible advocates of Cuban independence. After his death in 1895, in his first encounter with Spanish forces, each party to alliance selected parts of discourse that fit its particular needs and views. In exploring how Marti's image was adapted by disparate segments of Cuban society over first quarter century of Cuban independence, Guerra makes a significant contribution to understanding conflicts among Cuban patriots today. She also adds to understanding of what Stuart Hall has called the narrative of nation, foundational myths and allegories that contribute to formation of cultural identity, and Benedict Andersen's concept of imagined nation, perceived common interests that lead people who do not know each other to claim a common nationality. In that vein, this book also expands on work about public memory as well as symbolic appropriation of heroes from Mexico's Emiliano Zapata to Abraham Lincoln in United States. For journalism scholars, Guerra's most significant contribution may be in archives she uses: Cuban newspapers published in both Cuba and United States. By working with those archives to examine Marti and Cuban independence movement, she shifts focus from what has been norm in journalism history about period. Just as U.S. history courses refer to conflict as Spanish-American War, rather than Cuban war for independence, U.S. journalism historians have used conflict as a case study for dissecting exploits of Yellow Journalism. …