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Matthew Patay's
Note of the Month
June 2006
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Map and flag images provided by Graphic Maps
This month's featured note
is from Cuba.
The denomination is 1 Peso and the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money
(SCWPM) Number is P-122.
The note is dated 2003 and commemorates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Jose Marti.
(front)
The banknote is black and olive green.
José Julián Martí Pérez (January
28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) a leader of the Cuban independence movement, esteemed
poet and writer is at
right.
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The following information
was obtained from:
Wikipedia the
Free Encyclopedia
José Julián Martí Pérez
(1853 - 1895)
José Julián Martí Pérez (January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a leader of the Cuban independence movement as well as an esteemed poet and writer. He is considered the Cuban people's National hero. He is often refered to as "El Apostol de la Independencia Cubana," the Apostle of Cuban Independence, for his travels abroad in support of the Cuban independence movement.
Jose Marti was born on January 28, 1853, in Havana when Cuba was still a colony of Spain, to Spanish parents Mariano Martí and Leonor Pérez Cabrera, and was the oldest brother to seven sisters. When he was four years old, his family moved from Cuba to Valencia, Spain, but two years later they returned to the island where they enrolled José at a local public school. In this school, he met Rafael María de Mendive, a very influent person in Marti´s political thoughts.
Aside from being a grand writer, poet, and journalist, José Martí was also a painter. In 1867, he enrolled at the Professional School for Painting and Sculpting of Havana to take drawing classes.
In 1869 he published his first political writings in the only edition of the newspaper El Diablo Cojuelo. That same year he published "Abdala," a patriotic drama in verse form in the one-volume La Patria Libre. His famous sonnet "10 de octubre" was also written during that year, which was published later in his school newspaper. Despite this success, in March of that year, colonial authorities shut down the school, interrupting Martí's studies. He came to resent Spanish rule of his homeland at a young age; likewise, he developed a hatred of slavery, which was still practiced in Cuba.
In October 1869, he was arrested, then incarcerated in the national jail following an accusation of treason from the Spanish government. More than four months later, Martí assumed responsibility of the charges and was condemned to six years in prison. His mother tried arduously to free her son (who was still a minor at the time, at 16 years old) by writing letters to the government; his father went to a lawyer friend for legal support, but all efforts failed. Eventually Martí fell ill; his legs were severely lacerated due to the chains attached to him. Therefore, he was transferred by the General to another part of Cuba known as Isla de Pinos instead of further imprisonment. Following that, they decided to repatriate him to Spain. In Spain, he studied law and wrote articles on the wrongs of Spanish rule in Cuba.
After spending some time in Spain, Martí completed his studies, graduated with a bachelor of arts, and obtained his license in civil rights. He then traveled to France, where he spent some time before secretly returning to Cuba under an assumed name in 1877. He was unable to obtain any employment until he accepted a job as a professor of history and literature in Guatemala City.
In 1880, Martí moved to New York City serving as a joint consul there for Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina. He mobilized the Cuban exile community, especially in Tampa and Key West, Florida, to revolution and independence from Spain, while lobbying to oppose U.S. annexation of Cuba, which some American politicians desired.
In 1894, he left planning to land in Cuba and fight for revolution, but was intercepted in Florida. On March 25, 1895, José Marti published the Manifesto of Montecristi, proclaiming Cuban independence, an end to all legal distinctions between the races, friendship with Spaniards who did not oppose the independence, and war with all who stood in the way of independence.
On April 11, 1895, Martí landed in Cuba with a force of rebel exiles, including the rebel Generalísimo Máximo Gómez y Báez. José Martí was killed in battle with Spanish troops at the Battle of Dos Ríos on May 19, 1895. He is buried in Cementerio Santa Efigenia in Santiago de Cuba.
The Spanish-American War ended approximately three years after his death. His best and most revered works were his books for children; La Edad de Oro ("The Golden Age") being the most widely read. One of the poems from his collection Versos Sencillos was later put to music as "Guantanamera," which has become one of Cuba's most famous songs. José Martí International Airport in Havana and the town Martí were named after this leader of Cuban independence.
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(back)
Jose Marti's birthplace, the Casa Natal de Jose Marti, is at center.
The following information
was obtained from:
VirtualTourist.com
Casa Natal
De José Julián Martí Pérez
Written
by Jefie on February 5, 2006.
(For
the full article, please refer to the link above.)
If you hadn't heard about Jose Marti before going to Cuba, there's no way you'll leave without having a better idea of who this revolutionary poet was, and what an important figure he is in Cuba. Jose Marti was born in Havana in 1853 and of course the house where he was born has now been turned into a museum. The Marti family only rented two rooms on the top floor of the house, but now the entire house is filled with objects having belonged to the poet. There's not much information on who he was and the guides working there are all remarkably unfriendly so that you don't dare ask them a question... but still, for 1 CUC, it's still worth a visit. However, I would highly recommend that you go by taxi as the house is located further away from the main tourist area and therefore walking is a bit less safe. I actually got mugged on my way back from this museum...
Address: Corner of Calle Leonor Perez and Belgica
Phone: 861-37-78
Directions: In front of the railway station
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The following information
was obtained from:
Cuba.com
Welcome to Cuba!
The Caribbean harbors a jewel in the Island of Cuba. The tropical Island extends 750 miles (roughly the size of Pennsylvania) and is a beautiful mix of mountain ranges and plains. There are over 200 bays and 289 sun drenched beaches to explore. The main ports are located in the provinces of Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas and Santiago de Cuba.
Cuba has no plants or animals that are lethal to humans (Yes, this includes poisonous snakes!) The mountain ranges include the Sierra Maestra to the East, the Cordillera de los Organos to the West, and the Sierra del Escambray in the central region.
The elongated island of Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and is bounded to the north by the Straits of Florida and the greater North Atlantic Ocean, to the northwest by the Gulf of Mexico, to the west by the Yucatan Channel, to the south by the Caribbean Sea, and to the east by the Windward Passage. The Republic comprises the entire island, including many outlying islands such as the Isle of Youth, previously known as the Isle of Pine, with the exception of Guantanamo Bay, a naval base that has been leased by the United States since 1903. The mainland is the world's 16th largest island.
The economy of Cuba is based on state ownership with some small scale private enterprise existing at the fringes. Tourism has become one of the largest sources of income for Cuba, and in 1993 the U.S. dollar was made legal tender (the country operated under a dual-currency system); this arrangement was, however, revoked on 25 October 2004.
The Cuban economy was hit hard in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Comecon economic bloc, with which it had traded predominantly. More recent problems include high oil prices, recessions in key export markets such as sugar and nickel, damage from hurricanes (most recently an estimated 1 billion dollars economic damage from hurricane Charley), depressed tourism, and faltering world economic conditions. In late 2003, and early 2004, both tourism levels and nickel prices increased. One other factor in the recovery of the Cuban economy is the remittances of Cuban-Americans (which constitute almost 3% of the Cuban Economy, by some estimates). Cuba currently trades with almost every nation in the world (including the U.S.). However, Cuba owes billions in Paris Club debt to nations such as France, Japan and Germany.
For more information about the Cuba visit:
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