Jose Julian Marti Perez (January 28, 1853 - May 19, 1895) was a Cuban National Hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. During his life, he worked as a poet, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher. He was very politically active, and is considered an important revolutionary philosopher and political theorist. Through his writings and political activity, he became a symbol of Cuba's bid for independence against Spain in the 19th century, and is referred to as the "Apostle of Cuban Independence."

Marti's dedication to the cause of Cuban independence and his passionate belief in democracy and justice has made him a hero for all Cubans, a symbol of unity, the "Apostle", a great leader. His ultimate goal of building a democratic, just, and stable republic in Cuba and his obsession with the practical execution of this goal led him to become the most charismatic leader of the 1895 colonial revolution. His work with the Cuban emigre community, enlisting the support of Cuban workers and socialist leaders to form the Cuban Revolutionary Party, put into motion the Cuban war of independence. His foresight into the future, shown in his warnings against American political interests for Cuba, was confirmed by the swift occupation of Cuba by the United States following the Spanish-American War. His belief in the inseparability of Cuban and Latin American sovereignty and the expression thereof in his writings have contributed to the shape of the modern Latin American Identity. His works are a cornerstone of Latin American and political literature and his prolific contributions to the fields of journalism, poetry, and prose are highly acclaimed. Marti's writings on the concepts of Cuban nationalism fuelled the 1895 revolution and have continued to inform conflicting visions of the Cuban nation. The Cuban nation-state under Fidel Castro consistently claimed Marti as a crucial inspiration for its Communist revolutionary government. During Castro's regime, the politics and death of Marti were used to justify certain actions of the Cuban state. The Cuban government claimed that Marti had supported a single party system, creating a precedent for an all-powerful communist government. Castro used this explanation throughout the late 20th century to deter Cuban citizens from demanding a multiparty system. The vast amount of writing that Marti produced in his lifetime makes it difficult to determine his exact political ideology, but his major goal was the liberation of Cuba from Spain and the establishment of a democratic republican government. Despite Marti never having supported communism or single party systems, Cuban leaders repeatedly claimed that Marti's Partido Revolucionario Cubano was a "forerunner of the Communist Party". Marti's nuanced, often ambivalent positions on the most important issues of his day have led Marxist interpreters to see a class conflict between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie as the main theme of his works, while others, namely the Cuban diasporic communities in Miami and elsewhere have identified a liberal-capitalist emphasis. These Cuban exiles still honor Marti as a figure of hope for the Cuban nation in exile and condemn Castro's regime for manipulating his works and creating a "Castroite Marti" to justify its "intolerance and abridgments of human rights". His writings thus remain a key ideological weapon in the battle over the fate of the Cuban nation. One further example of his legacy is that his name has been chosen for several institutions or NGOs from various countries, such as Romania, where a public school from Bucharest and the Romanian-Cuban Friendship Association from Targoviste are both named "Jose Marti". A gigantic statue was unveiled on his 123rd birth anniversary and President Raul Castro was present at the ceremony.

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