The Cuban In Central Park Thing

Last month on January 28th Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Relations presided over a large gathering in Havana’s Parque Central to place a floral offering before the statue of National Hero, José Martí, for the 157 anniversary of his birth. Marti famous for his poetry, was an inspiration to Cubans in their fight for independence from Spain.  Because of his nationalistic views he was deported from Cuba.

Marti spent 15 years of his exile living in New York where incidentally  there is another statue  of him, also in Central Park.  I remember first seeing this statue as a kid when my father took me to see a Thanksgiving Day parade.  It’s located just a few blocks east of Columbus Circle on Central Park South.  This impressive statue of Marti riding a galloping horse was created for the City of New York by sculptor Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington in the early 1950′s.

Just across the Hudson River in New Jersey there are two busts of the Cuban hero.  One is located in West New York, which boasts one of the largest Cuban populations in the US next to Miami.  This statue was created by Manuel  Rudolfo Tardo who was a native of Matanzas, Cuba.

I discovered the other bust of Marti while having lunch in The Ironbound section of Newark.  This one can be found in a small triangular park directly across from Newark Penn Station.  What is interesting about this small statue is its location.  The neighborhood is not Cuban but Portuguese and Brazilian.  Also no one knows who the sculptor is.

Of course there are many statues of Marti in Cuba.  One of which is over a hundred years old. There are about a dozen here in the States.  So what is so fascinating about this man to Americans?  Martí dedicated his life to the cause of Cuban independence and perhaps it was his belief in the pursuit of freedom, liberty, and democracy, that are so prominent in his works, that also inspires Americans.  He was killed at the battle of “Dos Rios” on May 19, 1895.

Here’s a little bit of trivia regarding Jose Marti: From one of his poems was adapted to the song, “Guantanamera,” which became the definitive patriotic song of Cuba.  His grandson was the actor Cesar Romero best known as the “Joker” in the TV series Batman.