Cuban People Remember Jose Marti

The validity of Cuban national hero Jose Marti's work acquires new dimensions now, when millions of Cubans mark his fall in combat against Spanish colonialism 116 years ago.

The tribute began in Granma province, where children walked to the memorial built to mark the site where the main organizer of what is known as the Necessary War died.

The son of Spaniards Mariano Marti and Leonor Perez, Marti was born on January 28, 1853, and was the main chief architect of the renewal of the independence war in Cuba.

Marti brought the majority of Cubans together, explained the historic continuity of the Revolution, and showed that his country's independence was necessary to prevent Our America from being absorbed by the United States, and to attain global equilibrium.

His premature death at the age of 42 deprived Cuba of one of its best sons. Brilliant ideas, many with an enormous validity, remain alive in his poetry, literature, speeches, letters, articles, and diverse documents.