In a discussion at the Manuel E. Amador Gallery of the University of Panama, sponsored by the Juventudes Revolucionarias (JR) organization and Reforma Estudiantil, law professor Anayansi Turner presented the study of the Apostle’s major essay, “Our America.”
Referring to this text, published in January 1891 in the New York Illustrated Magazine and edited by the Panamanian Elías de Losada Pisé, the teacher recalled that the young journalist had warned early on that “trees must be lined up so that they don’t pass the giants seven leagues. It’s time for the recount and the march together,” he asserted, citing fragments of the letter.
He also urged that Martí be present at the national confirmation of countries in the region and on the Isthmus itself given Washington’s interference, as is currently the case with the constant interference in the internal affairs of current US Ambassador Mari Carmen Aponte or the presence of the Regional Naval Operations Center (Croan) in the country.
Another speaker at the colloquium, Dr. Guillermo Castro explained that Martí recognized early on the contradictions of his time and his sense of service to the cause of independence not only of his homeland when he expressed that what says home is humanity, he added that you are not only where you were born, but also where you move as a person.
Castro appreciated that the current reading of Martí’s thought must be seen in his close relationship to consistent and ethical practice, his belief in human improvement, in the utility of virtue, and in the transformative power of triumphant love, as he did the Cuban intellectual Armando taught Hart (1930-2017), noted.
Martí’s thoughts, he explained, have a concrete expression in the work of the Cuban Revolution and its historical leader, Fidel Castro.
He also commented on the impact of Martí’s ideas on the emancipatory struggle of Panamanian heroes such as former President Belisario Porras (1856-1942), “with whom he still maintains dialogues, starting from the symbolism represented by a bust of the Apostle in the park, which that bears the name of Porras in the capital of Isthmia and whose importance we must defend,” he said.
For his part, the economist Richard Morales felt that Martí was no stranger to anything besides his political and philosophical abilities to express ideas, and he also spoke on issues of economics, agriculture, trade, industrial development and food sovereignty, but above all about the integration of peoples.
Activities to honor Martí on the occasion of his 170th birthday (January 28, 1853) will continue tomorrow, Saturday, with a flower offering and a great folk act in Belisario Porras Park in the Panamanian capital.
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