Martí Faces Death

Abstract

Martí’s diary is the record of a modest invasion that unleashed a war, but it is much more than that. It is a pilgrimage of the soul, the last stance of a Caribbean visionary faced with the mystery of nature, the power of human kindness and the glimmer of transcendence before the certainty of death. The Diaries are one of those stories that, in Andrew Delbanco’s words, “leads somewhere and thereby helps navigate through life to its inevitable terminus in death; [and therefore) it gives us hope” (The Real American Dream 1). The Diaries are in fact two diaries in one. The first part, “From Montecristi [in the Dominican Republic] to Cap-Haïtien,” begins on February 14 and ends April 8, 1895. The second part, “From Cap-Haitïen to Dos Ríos,” covers from April 9 to May 17, 1895.

All references to Martí’s diaries are from Diarios de campaña. Ed. Mayra Beatriz Martínez and Froilán Escobar; they are given parenthetically by page number. Unless otherwise noted, all other references to Marti’s works, given parenthetically by volume and page number, are to Obras completas. Unless otherwise noted, all translations are mine.