Help Bring a Replica of the Statue of José Martí to Cuba

The Noble Project of Bringing a Replica of the Statue of Jose Marti to Cuba

The National Network on Cuba supports this project of solidarity between the people of Cuba and the United States and encourages all members and friends to spread the word.

The last great equestrian statue designed by Anna Hyatt when she was 82 was of José Martí (18.5 feet), and was dedicated as a gift from the people of Cuba to the people of the United States. It shares a section in the southern part of Central Park with the statues of the other great Latin American heroes Simón Bolívar and José de San Martin. They stand together at the beginning of the Avenue of the Americas in New York City.

“… How beautiful it would be to die on a horseback
fighting for the freedom of Cuba alongside a Palm.” — José Martí

For more than a decade, Eusebio Leal and the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana have persisted in the idea of bring together Cubans and Americans in an effort to place a replica of this unique statue in the historic capitol of Cuba. The Historian of Havana said, “We were impressed by the exceptional quality of this monument depicting the image of our hero in the act of dying for the cause that he had dreamed of and founded based on his analysis of the great American Revolution and the Cuban Revolutionary Party.

An Expression of Solidarity amongst the Peoples

It was necessary to wait with great patience for a favorable moment when we could bring this idea to fruition, along with those who could help make bringing a replica of the monument of Jose Marti to Cuba a reality.

Thanks to the remarkable persistence of the Historian of the City of Havana, we now have been able to bring together a confluence of elements to see the light of day. The support of numerous personalities from the United States have been crucial in obtaining the necessary funds for the creation of the copy along with others who have put together the required details of its location in the historical center of Havana.

There have been many people in the US who have promoted this idea and worked on it to gather the necessary funds required for such a project. An important role was played by attorneys Michael Krinsky and Lindsey Frank, from the office of Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman, P.C. The role of the Museum of the Bronx has also been particularly important as well as its director Holly Block, and Leanne Mella, who took on the role of project coordinator.

This project is an important example of the united effort between peoples and governments of both Cuba and the United States. The commitment of the Cuban Foreign Relations Ministry and the Embassy of Cuba in Washington DC with its Ambassador José Ramón Cabañas and the Permanent Mission of Cuba in the United Nations and its Ambassador Rodolfo Reyes in New York. The commitment also came from the U.S. Embassy in Havana and its highest representative Jeffrey De Laurentis. The willingness of Secretary of State John Kerry was also clear during his visit to Cuba when he told Leal, “My Department will put no objection to such a noble cause with such high cultural purpose.”

The Historian of Cuba went on to explain that for this project to reach a happy ending it will be necessary for those who feel the legitimacy of their Cuban identity to contribute, no matter how much, and join the institutions and foundations in the United States who favor relations between the two peoples.

“We have taken the original inscription at the foot of the monument and inverted it to reflect this new reality. Now it will say, From the people of the United States to the people of Cuba; encompassing the concept of American people to be not only its citizens but also the Cuban patriots who set up their residency there.”

The sculpture will remain facing the sea from the port of Havana and looking at the nation that he knew like few others.

Leal concludes that, “The monument to José Martí is a just aspiration of the Cuban people. Cuba gave that sculpture to the United States and a reproduction in this historic time attempts to extend the hands to the people of the United States and from the people of the United States, as an expression of solidarity between peoples.”

Those interested in making a donation to this project should contact Leanne Mella: lmella@bronxmuseum.org, or by telephone in the United States: 718/681-6000, 212/472-1762