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18. José Martí: His Legacy Lives Here

By Miguel Pérez

​
January 28, 2024 - You may have listened to his verses in the old Cuban song "Guantanamera." You may have seen his impressive statue in New York's Central Park. You may have heard him mentioned when Cuban-Americans and Washington politicians discuss the U.S. government radio and TV stations that bear his name, or when people cite streets, parks, schools or theaters that were named after him — in Cuba, the United States and throughout the Americas.

His name was José Martí. You may know him as the still-revered poet, journalist and revolutionary leader of the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain in the late 19th century or as the remarkable writer and stirring speaker who fostered the ideals of freedom and democracy in Spanish America.

This week, you could even be attending a civic or cultural event to commemorate the anniversary of his birth, which was in Havana on Jan. 28, 1853. All over this country and this hemisphere, there will be a multitude of banquets, lectures, recitals, writings and exhibits devoted to promoting Martí's teachings. And yet you may not realize that Martí's most important work — his legacy — was made while he lived in New York City and frequently commuted to Tampa, Florida during the last 15 years of his life.

Latin American history books are filled with patriots whose most valuable contributions were made while they lived in exile in the United States. And perhaps Martí is the best example. It was here that Martí developed his concepts of liberation and emancipation. It was here that he represented the aspirations of all oppressed people struggling to be free.​
En español: ​Su Legado Vive Aqui
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In New York's Central Park / / / / Photo:Miguel Pérez
Between 1880 and 1895, from his Greenwich Village apartment, Martí emerged and flourished as a brilliant defender of liberty. Covering huge range of genres, he wrote an amazing volume of poems, essays, plays, letters and newspaper articles that inspired many generations of Hispanics to stand up and fight for freedom and democracy. In 1889, he even published Edad de Oro (Golden Age), a children's magazine. He was a correspondent for various Latin American publications and a writer for the old New York Sun and The Hour, becoming this country's first Hispanic columnist in English-language newspapers. His complete works occupy more than 50 volumes, and his most productive time was the 15 years he lived in New York.
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​He was also a diplomat who represented three South American countries (Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay). Aside from Spanish, he spoke English, Italian, Latin, French and Classical Greek fluently. He is still considered one of the greatest Latin American intellectuals and literary figures. Writers and patriots have emulated him for generations.

​​But perhaps his greatest accomplishment was the way he managed to unite Cuban freedom fighters, in exile and on the island. It was his leadership, charisma and reputable integrity that enabled the formation of the Cuban Revolutionary Party in 1892 and led to the eventual defeat of Spanish forces on the island in 1898.
​ The party's mission was to create a free and independent Cuba for all Cubans, regardless of race or social status.

​Some background: Although Martí was born in Cuba of Spanish parents, his family returned to Valencia, Spain when he was four years old, and then back to Cuba two years later. But during his adolescence in Cuba, he began to express support for the cause of Cuban independence from the Spanish Empire. Since 1868, Cubans had already fought and failed to win independence from Spain in “the Ten Years’ War,” but young Martí felt Cubans needed to keep fighting. At an early age, he began writing political essays critical of Spanish colonial rule.

​In 1869, at the age of 16, Martí was arrested and charged with treason for co-writing a “reproving” letter to a friend who had joined the Spanish army. Although he was sentenced to six years in prison, after two years, in 1871, Spanish authorities forced him into exile in Spain, where he was able to make a living as a translator and continue his studies in law and philosophy while still speaking out and writing articles condemning Spanish rule of Cuba.
MARTÍ MONUMENTS IN CUBA:
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Because he was prevented to return to Cuba, after obtaining a law degree in 1874, Martí moved to Mexico City, where he freelanced for newspapers, continued advocating for Cuban independence. In 1876, he moved Guatemala City, where he was a writing professor. But he went back to Mexico in 1877 to marry Carmen Zayas Bazán, a young Cuban woman he met in Mexico City a couple of years earlier.

Together, they moved back to Guatemala, but only  until Martí was allowed to return to Cuba at the end of the Ten Years War in 1878. Once back in Havana, they had a son, José Francisco, also known as "Pepito."

But Martí returned to Cuba as a strong opponent of the Pact of Zanjón, which ended that war, because he thought it had little effect on Cuba’s status as a colony. And when his application to practice law in Cuba was denied, in a clear retaliation for his activism, Martí became even more involved with revolutionaries on the island. After he was deported back to Spain for a second time in 1879, Marti finally immigrated in 1880 to New York City, where he felt free to express his controversial opinions.
MARTÍ'S TIMELINE IN PHOTOS:
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In a speech to Cuban immigrants in New York’s old Steck Hall, Martí charged that Spain had not honored the terms of the peace treaty and had continued excessive taxation, falsified elections and failed to abolish slavery, which was still practiced in Cuba and he adamantly opposed. He said Cuba was not free and another war needed to be fought. He said the Cuban suffering and heroism during the Ten Years War had already earned them the right to be an independent nation.

​In 1881, Martí spent a short time in Venezuela where he started a publication that angered dictator Antonio Guzmán Blanco and was forced to return to New York.
While in New York, he made a living as a freelance writer and book translator for the publishing house D. Appleton. But as an activist, he also translated Cuba-related pamphlets from Spanish to English. As a correspondent from New York, he wrote in Spanish for La Nación of Buenos Aires, La Opinion Liberal of Mexico City, La Opinion Nacional of Venezuela, and several other Hispanic publications.

In June of 1891, his wife and son joined him New York, only to realize that they could not compete with Martí’s devotion to his work and obsession with his cause. They returned to Havana two months later. He never saw them again. It was a hard blow for Martí.

Perhaps for solace, he then began a relationship with Carmen Miyares de Mantilla, a Venezuelan woman who ran a New York boarding house and have him a daughter, Maria Mantilla, a concert singer who then gave birth to a son who turned out to be a famous Hollywood actor: The late Cesar Romero, would proudly acknowledge that Martí was his grandfather. Needless to say, Martí left roots in the city, and in American culture.

​
​While Martí did much of his writing in New York City, he did most his political organizing in Ybor City, the section of Tampa that had become the mecca for Cuban immigrants — the original Little Havana — in the late 19th century and early 20th. They turned Ybor City into “The Cigar Capital of the World,” with some 300 cigar factories employing thousands of workers.
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CUBA
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COSTA RICA
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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
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HUNGRÍA
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INDIA
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EL SALVADOR
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COLOMBIA
It was there that Martí found moral and financial support. It was there that he convinced exiled workers, mostly cigar makers, to get involved in the Cuban independence movement, and to raise funds that would finance the fight for Cuba’s independence.

In Ybor City, which he visited numerous times starting in 1881, there were many Cuban and Spanish social clubs, each with their own clubhouse building, where Martí’s fiery speeches 
earned him the title of “Apóstol de la independencia cubana” (Apostle of Cuban Independence) and convinced political exiles to unite and to contribute a portion of their salaries to their common cause. Some of those clubhouses are still standing and are now considered National Historic Landmarks.
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ARGENTINA
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ESPAÑA
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NICARAGUA
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PARAGUAY
The Liceo Cubano, a cigar factory that had been converted into a theater and social center in 1886, became Martí revolutionary headquarters. It was there that Martí delivered his two famous speeches, "Con Todos y Para Todos" and "Los Pinos Nuevos." And although El Liceo is no longer there, a historical marker shows the spot where it stood and calls it the “CRADLE OF CUBAN LIBERTY.” (See photo).

​While New York recognizes him with a very impressive statue in Central Park, in Ybor City, Martí’s effigies are everywhere! There are statues and busts and even a park honoring his memory. At the Tampa Bay History Center, there is a huge photo of Martí and his followers in front of a cigar factory in in 1893. So, I couldn’t help myself; I took a selfie with them! LOL (See photo).

​"With Cigar City's largely Cuban workforce, the issues of Cuba were those of Tampa," a History Center exhibit explains. It notes that "During the 1890s, nearly every Cuban member of the Tampa workforce willingly pledged on day's salary per week toward Cuba's independence from Spain . . . From Tampa, Martí and other revolutionary leaders found a place to rally, recruit and train a growing force of insurrectos."

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Parque Amigos de José Martí
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In Ybor City
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In Ybor City
At the end of 1891 and beginning of 1892, when news of Martí’s fiery speeches in New York and Tampa had reached the large Cuban community in Key West, leaders of that community invited Martí to speak at several events. Accompanied by delegations of Cuban exiles from New York and Tampa, on Christmas Day 1891 Martí travelled from Tampa to Key West aboard the steamship Olivetti.

​They spent several days going to community meetings and cigar factories where Martí even took over the reader’s podium to explain that, if unity among Cuban exiles could be achieved, if Key West Cuban community leaders could drop their differences and coordinate their efforts with those in Tampa and New York, a successful war could be waged against Spanish colonial rule in Cuba.
They went back to Tampa 12 days later, on January 5, 1892, feeling that they had realized the dream of uniting all Cuban exiles in the United States. It was perhaps Martí's greatest accompliment! If that sounds familiar, it's because it's the same dream that once again eludes Cuban exiles nowadays. Because need another Martí!

​In March of 1892, Martí published his own newspaper, Patria, devoted to raising awareness of the need for Cuban freedom. In the summer of 1892 from his home in New York City, Marti traveled and delivered moving speeches in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Florida, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica in a campaign to raise support and funding for a revolution. In December of 1893, he survived a poisoning attempt in Tampa. Yet in 1894, Martí kept traveling, not only to promote his ideas, but to begin planning an uprising in Cuba with other exiled rebel leaders. In Montecristi, Dominican Republic, he met with Gen. Maximo Gomez, and in San Jose, Costa Rica, he met with Gen. Antonio Maceo Grajales.
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The apostle was back in New York shortly after his 42nd birthday in 1895 when he wrote and signed the order to begin the uprising against Spain in Cuba. It was passed through several revolutionary carriers assigned with smuggling the decree into the island. When it got to Florida, the document was rolled inside a Tampa cigar and carried to Havana from Key West by passenger on a steamer. After it was received by insurrectionists in Cuba, the War of Independence began on Feb. 24, 1895.

​Martí then went to the Dominican Republic where he joined other revolutionaries before returning to Cuba to join the fight. His small expedition landed in Playitas, Cuba on April 11, 1895. But he never realized his dream of seeing a free Cuba! After joining Cuban rebels, he was killed by Spanish forces, at the age of 42, on May 19, 1895. His Central Park statue depicts the moment when he was fatally wounded as he rode a horse into battle at Dos Rios, at the confluence of the Contramaestre and Cauto rivers in Cuba's Oriente province.​

​Those who fought for Cuba's freedom had lost their most prominent civilian leader, but Cuba and all the Spanish colonies had gained an eternal martyr.​
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In New York, you can still visualize Dos Ríos, at the time of Martí's death.
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​Martí had laid the foundation for Cuban independence from Spain, realized with the help of American troops in 1898, three years after his death. Yet Cuba did not become truly independent until the U.S. Army finally left in the island 1902. The Cuban War of Independence became known here as the Spanish-American War. Yet the History Center describes it more accurately: "The-Spanish-Cuban-American War." And Tampa had a huge role it all of it! Curiously, three years after Martí died in Cuba, Tampa also served as the official port of embarkation for American troops, led by Col. Teddy Roosevelt, on their way to Cuba in 1898.

​​In Ybor City, the land once occupied by the boarding house where Martí stayed is now the “Parque Amigos de José Martí.” And since the property was donated to the Cuban government, it is considered the only Cuban territory in the United States, other than the Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C.

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In Tampa's Ybor City
The park features a statue of Martí, a bust of Cuban independence General Antonio Maceo, a modest mural-map of Cuba, and the Cuban and American flags. It is covered with soil brought from each of the original six Cuban provinces! When you enter, you know you are stepping on Cuban soil. It's the only way to go to Cuba without a passport!

​​The boarding house that once stood there belonged to Ruperto and Paulina Pedroso, the Afro-Cuban couple who nursed Martí back to health after he has poisoned by two Spanish agents in 1893. Cuban folklore says that many years later, before she died back in Cuba, Paulina requested to be buried with a photo of Martí. On the back, it was dedicated by Martí "to Paulina, my black mother."
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Parque Amigos de José Martí / / / / / / Photo: Miguel Pérez
​The Pedroso house went through several transactions until it was purchased in the early 1950s by Cubans wishing to recognize its historic significance. When the property was donated “to the people of Cuba” and ownership was transferred to the Cuban government in 1956, at first there was talk of turning it into a museum. But when it was severely damaged by a fire, it was decided to turn it into a small park, which opened in 1960: "Parque Amigos de José Martí — dedicated to the memory of the patriot, poet, and journalist who led the island's revolution to win independence from Spain."

​​After his death, the teachings of the Apostle of Cuban Independence spread like wildfire throughout the Americas, where homes and public buildings were adorned with images of the man with the broad forehead, thick mustache and sincere smile. Latin American children were taught to emulate this ideal man, who was strong enough to be willing to die for his country yet sensitive enough to write beautiful love poems.

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Paulina Pedroso
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Pedroso guest house, demolished in 1956. Became a park in 1960.
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After listening to the Cuban classic song "Guantanamera," some of my Hispanic history students assume that Martí was also a songwriter. Every semester, this gives me an opportunity to explain that only a few of Martí's "Versos Sencillos" (Simple Verses) were adapted into song lyrics long after he died, and that he wrote those moving, autobiographical verses while he recovered from an illness in Haines Falls, N.Y.

​I also get to share some of my favorites, from when I recited them as a boy in Cuba.

​"Yo vengo de todas partes, y hacia todas partes voy: Arte soy entre las artes. En los montes, monte soy." (I come from everywhere and to everywhere I go. I am art among the arts. 
In the mountains, I am a mountain."
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Paulina Pedroso
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As if history was repeating itself, in Little Havana's Cuban Memorial Plaza, a wall with map of Cuba features two Marti thoughts that perfectly illustrate the condition of Cubans who long to see their homeland free again:

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​​• "La patria es agonía y deber". ("The homeland is agony and duty."
• Yo quiero, cuando me muera sin patria, pero sin amo, tener en mi losa un ramo de flores, ´y una bandera! ("I 
want, when I die, without a country, but without a master, to have on a tomb a bouquet of flowers, and a flag)."
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Cuban Memorial Plaza, Little Havana
However, Martí was such a prolific writer that his ideas have been extracted — and taken out of context — to defend almost any point of view, much in the same way that the Bible often is quoted to make opposing arguments.

​Amazingly, at a time when Latin America is sharply divided between socialists and capitalists, both sides can claim Martí as one of their own. Depending on the perspective from which he is seen, Martí either was strongly anti-American or favored a Latin America in the image of the United States — either "the intellectual author" of today's Communist Cuba or a Cuban who would be exiled in New York again — if he were alive today — still struggling to free his homeland.

​​​In Cuba, the communists argue that Fidel and Raul Castro are completing Martí's revolution by defying the United States. But in this country, Cuban-Americans believe Martí could have been one of today's Cuban rafters, once again fleeing the island to be able to express himself freely, or perhaps one of Castro's political prisoners, serving time for writing articles that would be considered "counterrevolutionary" today.


Indeed, some of Martí's writings, from more than a century ago, are censored in Communist Cuba, where the government is very selective about what the public is allowed to read. Cuban schools and books promote Martí's line about having lived in the "monster" that is the United States, but they censor his warning about the dangers of socialism and totalitarian leaders.

​"One revolution is still necessary,'' Martí wrote in his day, as could be written today, "the one that will not end with the rule of its leader.'' That's the side of Martí that Cubans on the island are not allowed to know. "A nation is not governed like a military camp," Martí wrote.

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In West New York, N.J. with New York City behind him, another Martí thought still stands out below his bust. "The Fatherland is an altar, not a stepping stone." / / / / / / / Photo: Miguel Pérez
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​Because they are told that the Castro dictatorship was Martí's idea, many young Cubans grow up hating a man they should admire. "If that was Martí's dream," a young Cuban once told me shortly after escaping from the island, "damned be the hour when he fell asleep."

​Carved on a plaque at José Martí Park in Union City, N.J., below a bust of Martí, the Cuban apostle's words describe the reason Cuban-Americans gather there instead of their homeland to play their beloved game of dominoes. "Man loves liberty, even if he does not know that he loves it," Martí wrote. "He is driven by it and flees from where it does not exist."

​
Aside from the numerous Martí monuments in Cuba, his statues are all over Latin America. Aside from the numerous times his image has been honored in Cuban postage stamps, other countries have done the same. (See images). In Cuban communities in this country, there is always a bust of Martí to whom flowers are brought every January 28.​
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In José Martí Park, Union City, N.J.
With the passage of time, U.S. Hispanics could be expected to slowly forget their homeland heroes. But when those heroes also lived here, when they were also pioneers of the U.S. Hispanic community, we continue to identify with their struggle for freedom and social justice — especially when their fight does not appear to be over.

As this country's pioneer Hispanic columnist, Martí even outlined the mission for Hispanic journalists today and the path I have chosen to follow with my own column: "What I want is to demonstrate that we are good, industrious, and capable people," Martí wrote in a letter to a friend in Mexico. "For each offense, a response ... (made) more effective by its moderation. For every false assertion about our countries, an immediate correction. For each defect, apparently just, which is thrown in our faces, the historical explanation that will excuse it, and the proof of the capacity to remedy it. 
Without defending, I don't know how to live. It would seem to me that I were being derelict in my duty if I could not realize this thought."

Part of this column was originally published by Creators.com as 
Cuba's José Martí: His Legacy Lives Here, on January 21, 2014.​​
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In Washington, D.C.
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In Miami
The lyrics of "Guantanamera" are based on Martí's poetry. Listen to The Sandpipers on YouTube: youtu.be/hFIATa8XIaQ
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                   CHAPTERS/CAPITULOS

1. Our Pre-Mayflower Thanksgivings
Nuestros Días de Acción de Gracias Pre-Mayflower
               
2. A Tale of Two Cities
                 
3. Our Pre-Hispanic Heritage
              

4. The Black Legend Returns

4. La Leyenda Negra Regresa
                
5. Even on HBO, The Black Legend Lives
                   
6. Our Spanish Heritage
                     
7. Exalted or Offended?
                    
8. We are all 'Americanos'
                  
9. Latinos are Failing
                  
10. Hispanic, Columbus or Indigenous Day?

10. ™Dia Hispano, De Colon o Indigena?
                   
11. Two Good Places to Rest
11. Dos buenos lugares para descansar
                  
12. Whitman's Prophetic Letter
12. La Carta Profética de Whitman
                  
13. America’s Cradle
13. La Cuna de America
                 
14. Our Quincentennial is Coming!

14. ´Nuestro Quinto Centenario Se Avecina!
                   
15. 
This chapter was merged with Chapter 29
                
16. A Time To Welcome the Spirits
                  
17. A Hispanic Christmas
17. Una Navidad Hispana
                  
18. JOSE MARTI:
     His Legacy Lives Here
     
Su Legado Vive Aqui
                
19. Hyphenated and Proud!
                   
20. Politicizing Education

21. Speak Any Spanish Lately?
              
22. 
Let's Celebrate Three Kings Day!

22. ´Celebremos el día de los Reyes!
               
23. 
This chapter was merged with Chapter 29


24. A Long-Overdue Museum
                 
25. America's First Christmas was celebrated in Spanish

25. La Primera Navidad Americana ​ fue celebrada en español​

26. The Grand Canyon
and the Bucket List
 Of Hispanic Heritage
26. El Gran Canyon
y la Lista de Lugares de la Herencia Hispana

                  
27. 
On Fiesta Month, Can We Talk About Heritage?
27. En el mes de las fiestas, ™podemos hablar de nuestra herencia?

28. Our Hispanic Heritage: On Exhibit and Yet Hidden
28. Nuestra Herencia Hispana: En Exhibición y Sin Embargo Oculta

29. Florida's Birthday Should Be a National Holiday

             
30. A Local Celebration that Should be National               

31. 
This chapter was merged with Chapter 30               
​

32. The Conveniently 'Forgotten War'
32. La Guerra Convenientemente Olvidada

33. Guantanamo Has a History  June 4, 2013

34. Exposing the Social Media Bigots  June 18, 2013
34. Exponiendo a los Intolerantes
     de los Medios Sociales June 18, 2013

35. Thinking of Cusi On the Fourth of July
35. Pensando en Cusi en el Cuatro de Julio

36. The Discovery of White Hispanics
36.  El Descubrimiento de los Hispanos Blancos

37. Let's Build a Timeline Of Hispanic-American History
37. Vamos a Construir una Cronología
     De la Historia Hispanoamericana

38. In the Name of Heritage
38. En el Nombre de la Herencia

39. Hispanics or Latinos?
39. ™Hispanos o Latinos?

40.  Hollywood's Hidden Hispanic Heritage
40. La Herencia Hispana Oculta en Hollywood

41. Obliviously Living in ‘The Land of Estevan Gomez’
41. Viviendo Inconscientemente
       En la ‘Tierra de Estevan Gómez’

42. Marking America's Birthplace
42. Marcando el Lugar de Nacimiento De Estados Unidos

43. Hispanics in Denial Should Be Infamous
43. Los Hispanos en Rechazo Deben Ser Infames

44. 
Gay Marriage's Hidden American History
      Started in Spanish
 CABEZA DE VACA'S JOURNEY
44. La Historia Oculta del Matrimonio Gay
      En América Comenzó en Español
        EL VIAJE DE CABEZA DE VACA​

45. Super Bowl Coke Commercial
       Draws Out Ugly Americans

45. Comercial de Coke en Super Bowl
     Hace Relucir a los Americanos Feos


46. 
The 'Discovery' of Self-Loathing Hispanics
46. El ‘Descubrimiento' de los
     Hispanos que se Auto Desprecian


THE GREAT HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY TOUR 
June 2014 - January 2015


47. My Pilgrimage to San Xavier
47. Mi Peregrinaje a San Xavier

48. The Great Hispanic American History Tour
48. La Gran Gira por la Historia Hispanoamericana

49. On the Trail of Conquistadors
49. En el Camino de los Conquistadores

50. Beyond St. Augustine
50. Más Allá de San Agustín

51. 
An American hero and hidden Hispanic role model
51. Un héroe americano y modelo hispano oculto​

52. The Hispanic Flank of the American Revolution
52. El Flanco Hispano de la Revolucion Americana
​

53. New Orleans Has a Spanish ‘Ne Sais Quoi’
53. New Orleans Tiene Un ‘Ne Sais Quoi’ Español
​
54. Galveston: Still the Isle of Misfortune?

55. Extracting Compacted History
     Unveils Hidden Hispanic Heritage

56. 'Remember The Alamo' Was a Spanish Mission

57. San Antonio: The Showcase Of Our Hispanic Heritage

58. There Was Compassion On the Spanish Mission Trail

58. Hubo Compasión en el Camino de las Misiones Españolas
​
59. A Hidden Latina Role Model

60. Time Portals on the Road

61. The First Thanksgiving
     In the (Southwest) United States

62. The World's Biggest Statue
of a Nameless Horseback Rider


63. A River Runs Through Our Hispanic Heritage

64. A Beacon of Hope On a Border Mountaintop

65. A Mexican-American Town
65. Un Pueblo Mexico-Americano

66. The Crossroads of Conquistadors

67. Hiking In Search of Coronado's Trail

68. The Real American Pioneers

69. Keeping My Pledge to San Xavier

70. If They Knew Arizona's History,
     They Wouldn't Be So Xenophobic

71. 'Tucson' is a Spanish Adaptation

72. Under a Utah Lake, Hispanic Heritage Lives

73. A Hilltop View Of Hispanic Heritage

74. Searching for Coronado's Quivira

75. The Spanish Savior of St. Louis

76. 
Jefferson's Spanish Library

WASHINGTON, D.C.
February-June 2015

77. When Galvez Came to Congress
77. Cuando Gálvez Vino al Congreso


78. A Tour of Our Extraordinarily Hispanic U.S. Capitol

79. Searching for Not-S0-Hidden
Hispanic Heritage in Washington, DC


80. Smithsonian Omits Hispanics In U.S. History Exhibit
80. Smithsonian Omite a los Hispanos
     en Exhibición de Historia de EE.UU.
MIAMI - August 2015
​
81. Finding Dad in a Museum
81. Encontre a Mi Padre en un Museo


​CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP - 2018
82. International Friendship Park ​at U.S.-Mexico Border
​- A Jagged Corner of the World


83. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
​
84. Cabrillo National Monument

85. ​It took more than 2 centuries

86. Presidio Park: The Birthplace
of the Spanish Colonization of California


87. Junípero Serra Museum Transcends the Story of a Great Man

88. Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá:
California's First Spanish Mission


89. Old Mission (Padre) Dam: California's First Aqueduct

90. Even at the beach in San Diego, you can't avoid Spanish history

91. Chicano Park: Mexican-American ​painted under highway ramps

92. Balboa Park: Candy for your eyes amid a painful controversy!

93. San Diego: An American Town
Named After the Saint from Alcalá

93. San Diego: Un Pueblo Americano
Lleva el Nombre del Santo de Alcalá


94. San Luis Rey de Francia: The King of the California Missions
94. San Luis Rey de Francia: ​El Rey de las Misiones de California

95. San Antonio de Pala:
A Sub-Mission to Reach
 the Natives of the Interior
95. San Antonio de Pala:
Una Asistencia para Alcanzar los Nativos del Interior

96. San Juan Capistrano:
The Home of the Mission Swallows
 from Argentina
96. San Juan Capistrano:
El Hogar de las Golondrinas Desaparecidas ​de Argentina

97. San Gabriel Arcángel: A Mission that Launched Cities
97. San Gabriel Arcángel: Una Misión Que Lanzó Ciudades

98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanics had to be imported

98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanos tuvieron que sen importados


99. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes:
A Walk through Mexican-American History

99. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes:
Un Paseo por la historia 
​mexicoamericana


100. Strolling the Hispanic Walk of Fame
​100. Caminando por el Paseo Hispano de la Fama

101. San Fernando Rey de España Teaches
California's Colonial History

101. ​​San Fernando Rey de España Enseña
la historia colonial de California


​102. Mission San Buenaventura Survived Earthquakes and Pirates
102. Misión San Buenaventura Sobrevivió Terremotos y Piratas

​103. Father Serra Cross: On a hill,
​overlooking ​the land he shepherded

​103.
La Cruz del Padre Serra:
​En una colina, ​con vistas a la tierra que pastoreaba


104. The Birthplace of Santa Barbara
104. El Lugar de Nacimiento de Santa Barbara

105. The Queen of the Spanish Missions
105. La Reina de las Misiones Españolas

106. Mission Santa Ines: Built to relieve other overcrowded missions
106. Misión Santa Inés: Construida para aliviar otras misiones superpobladas

107. Mission La Purísima Concepcion:
​Going back in time ​to Spanish California

107. Mision La Purísima Concepción:
Retrocediendo en ​el tiempo a la California española


XXX. Saluting an exile: ​Father Félix Varela
XXX. The Meaning of 'Sotomayor'
EXPLORING THE SOUTHEAST
To recharge our spiritual and cultural batteries
​Cuban-Americans come to ​'La Ermita'

Para recargar nuestras baterías espirituales y culturales
los cubanoamericanos vienen a 'La Ermita'


San Carlos Institute: Like walking into a  Cuban history book

Instituto San Carlos: Como entrar en un libro de historia de Cuba

​Key West: So close to Cuba and yet so far away
Key West: Tan cerca de Cuba y sin embargo tan lejos​


An exclusive preview ​of a new, yet ancient Miami cultural center
Un adelanto exclusivo ​de un nuevo, aún antiguo centro cultural de Miami


Miami's Bayfront Park celebrates ​almost all the Americas
​El Bayfront Park de Miami celebra casi todas las Américas

On Florida's Camino Real only remnants remain
En el Camino Real de Florida solo quedan restos
​

​A trip back in time, to colonial Spanish Florida
Un viaje al pasado, a la Florida española colonial

​Pensacola, Florida: ​'​A Spanish Town'
Pensacola, Florida: ​'Un pueblo español'


In the American Revolution, ​Hispanics fought and won the Battle of Pensacola
En la Revolución Americana, los hispanos lucharon y ganaron la Batalla de Pensacola

Pensacola, 'America's First Settlement' remembers its Spanish founder
​
Pensacola, el primer pueblo estadounidense recuerda a su fundador español

History Museum of Mobile recognizes pre-British American 'age of exploration'
Museo de Historia de Mobile reconoce la 'era de exploración' estadounidense prebritánica


A multilingual fort and its rotating history
Un fuerte multilingüe y su historia rotativa


​Mobil's Spanish Plaza Park, ​an unexpected gem
​Plaza de España de Mobile, una joya inesperada

Twenty-one road trip stops Tracing De Soto's Journey
Veintiuna paradas el la carretera Trazando el viaje de De Soto

ON THE ROAD AGAIN - 
​​1. Walt Whitman's House, ​Camden, NJ
​
2. ​Casa de Walt Whitman, ​Camden, NJ

2. Yorktown ​Battlefield, Va.
2. ​Campo de Batalla Yorktown

​
3. ​'First Landing' State Park, Va.
​3. Parque estatal 'First Landing'


4. ​Jamestown Settlement, Va.
4. Asentamiento de Jamestown Settlement, Va.


​5. ​When Florida reached South Carolina,
​    St. Helena was an important town

5. Cuando Florida llegaba hasta Carolina del Sur,
​    Santa Helena era un pueblo importante


​
6. Juan Ponce de Leon at ​Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl.
6. Juan Ponce de León en Playa de Ponte Vedra, Fl.​

7. Fort Mose Historic State Park, Fl.
​The first free African American community - in Spanish Florida!

​​7. ​Parque Estatal Histórico Fort Mose, Fl.
​​La primera comunidad afroamericana libre - en la Florida española!


8. St. Augustine, Fl., The "Old City Gate"
​at our first permanent settlement
​
8. San Agustín, Florida, La "Puerta de la Ciudad Vieja"
​en nuestro primer pueblo permanente

9. St. Augustine, Fl., Castillo de San Marcos
9. Castillo de San Marcos, ​San Agustín, Fl.

​

​​


Castillo de San Marcos, ​San Agustín, Fl.
EXPLORING NEW MEXICO - 2023
​​1. Our journey begins ​at La Jornada
​​1. Nuestra jornada comienza ​en 'La Jornada'


2. In Old Town Albuquerque, if you have Spanish blood, you feel it!
​
​2. En Old Town Albuquerque, si tienes sangre española, ´lo sientes!​

3. Albuquerque: An American city named after a Spanish duke
3. Albuquerque: Una ciudad Americana con el nombre de un duque español

4. San Felipe de Neri, Albuquerque's patron saint and oldest building
4. San Felipe de Neri, patrón de Albuquerque ​y edificio más antiguo

5. History cannot be hidden or denied, even if it hurts
5. La historia no se puede ocultar ni negar, aunque duela

6. Following the historic Dominguez-Escalante Trail
6. Siguiendo el sendero histórico de Domínguez y Escalante

7. An amazing cultural center and its even ​more amazing fresco

7. Un centro cultural increíble ​y su fresco aún más asombroso​
​
8. Hispanic heritage lives ​in Native American museum

8. La herencia hispana vive en museo de nativos americanos​

9. The Native American pueblo Coronado visited, or fought?
9. El pueblo nativo americano que Coronado ™visitó o peleó?

10. My namesake San Miguel, ​the oldest church on the United States mainland
10. Mi homónimo San Miguel, la iglesia ​más antigua de los Estados Unidos continentales

11. If it's not the 'Oldest House,' ​it's certainly among them!
​11. Si no es la 'casa más antigua', ´Sin duda está entre ellas!

12. Santa Fe, a modern city that looks like an ancient pueblo
12. Santa Fe, una ciudad moderna que parece un pueblo antiguo

13. You know the conquistadores? Now meet 'La Conquistadora'
13. ™Conoces a los conquistadores? Ahora conoce a 'La Conquistadora'

14. You think you are in a park, ​but you are walking in a history book

14. Crees que estás en un parque, ​pero estás caminando en un libro de historia

15. A palace, a plaza and a desecrated obelisk
15. Un palacio, una plaza y un obelisco profanado

16. New Mexico's History shines in its fearless museums
16. La historia de Nuevo México vive en sus intrépidos museos

17. Don Pedro de Peralta still rides in Santa Fe
17. Don Pedro de Peralta todavía cabalga en Santa Fe

18. Two sacred monuments to honor the martyrs​​​
18. Dos monumentos sagrados para honrar a los mártires

19. On U.S. land that was part of Mexico, she is still revered
​
19. En territorio estadounidense que era parte de México, todavía es venerada

20. Digging for miraculous dirt in the Santuario de Chimayó
​
20. Excavando en busca de tierra milagrosa en el Santuario de Chimayó

21. Española is not a Spanish woman; It's a fabulous place!
21. Española no es una mujer española, Es un lugar fabuloso!

22. History, faith, culture and pride on display ​in Hispanic fiestas
22. Historia, fe, cultura y orgullo en exhibición en las fiestas hispanas​

23. A town with Indian and Spanish names: Ohkay Owingeh and San Juan de los Caballeros
23. Un pueblo con nombre indio y español: Ohkay Owingeh y San Juan de los  Caballeros

24. Searching for San Gabriel, New Mexico's abandoned capital
24. Buscando a San Gabriel, La capital abandonada de Nuevo Mexico
SPECIAL SECTIONS
• Great (pro-Hispanic) Americans
​• Spanish-American expeditions before Jamestown
• NYC ​Hispanic Landmarks
• NYC Hispanic Art
• Do You Know Them? Los Conoces?
• Garita Art
​
• Do You Speak Spanglish?
HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY TIMELINE
​• 16th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
• 17th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
• 18th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
​

​1513 Ponce de Leon Discovers North America, Names Her 'Florida'

April 22, 1513 ​Alaminos discovers the Gulf Stream

1517 De Cordoba, wounded in Yucatan, stops in Florida

1518 Grijalva Reaches Galveston Island

1519 De Pineda confirms Florida ​is not an island​

1521 Ponce de Leon Returns to Florida, Falls Mortally Wounded

1524-25 Estevan Gomez Explores North America's East Coast

1526 Ayllón lands in S.C., settles in Georgia


1528 Narváez expedition succumbs to storms and natives

1528-36 Cabeza de Vaca treks across North America

1537-42 Cabeza de Vaca Returns to Spain, Writes 'La Relación'

1539 De Niza Searches for Golden Cities of Cibola
​

1539-42 De Soto celebrates first American Christmas

1540 Hernando de Alarcon Reaches California

1540-42 Coronado Explores the Southwest,
Cardenas Discovers ​the Grand Canyon


1542-43  ​Cabrillo explores California coast​

1559 De Luna Builds Santa Maria de Ochuse​


1565 Pedro Menendez de Avilés Establishes San Agustin

1566 Santa Elena Built in South Carolina

1598 ​Juan de Oñate Explores New Mexico

1602 Sebastian Vizcaino ​explores the West Coast

1610 Pedro de Peralta establishes Santa Fe

1610-26 The Birth of San Miguel, oldest church in the U.S.A.

1613 Juan Rodriguez becomes the first Manhattan immigrant

1633 Misión San Luis de Apalachee is born in Tallahassee

​1682 San Antonio de la Ysleta becomes first mission in Texas

1691 Father Eusebio Kino builds Tumacácori and Guevavi

1692 ​Father Kino builds San Xavier del Bac 

1692 Diego de Vargas leads ​'Bloodless Reconquest" of Santa Fe

1695 Castillo de San Marcos ​Completed in St. Augustine

1718 Mission San Antonio de Valero is born
​- long before it became The Alamo
​

1738 Runaway slaves establish Fort Mose,
​the first free African-American community​


​1738 Francisco Menendez Leads Fort Mose

1742 Spanish Soldiers ​Open Fort Matanzas

1752 Spanish Soldiers Build Presidio de Tubac

1763 Spanish Florida Goes to England

1765 Juan Antonio Maria de Rivera ​explores ​Colorado and Utah
​
1769 
Father Serra opens ​San Diego de Alcalá,
California's first ​Spanish mission


1771 Father Serra establishes San Gabriel Arcángel

1772 Good hunting determines site
​of ​Misión San Luis Obispo de Tolosa


1775 Captain Hugh O’Connor
​builds Presidio San Agustin del Tucson


​1776-83 Hispanics in the American Revolution

1776 The Birth of San Francisco

1781 Spanish troops defeat the British, capture Pensacola

1781 Pobladores of Los Angeles are imported

1791 ​Alessandro Malaspina Alaska Reaches Alaska

1797 Fermín Francisco de Lasuén
Establishes Misión San Fernando Rey de España


1797 The Birth of Villa de Branciforte
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Please join our dialogue on Facebook / Por favor únete a nuestro diálogo en Facebook

Herencia Hispana Oculta de America:
La Lista de Lugares, Ideas, y Evidencia Historica para Reconectár a los Americanos con sus Raíces Hispanas

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America's Hidden Hispanic Heritage:
The Bucket List of Places, Ideas and Historical Evidence to Reconnect Americans with their  Hispanic Roots
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