Surely the ground “shook with pain" when a point-blank shot deprived an entire nation of its founding father, a daring man of great sacrifice and unparalleled devotion that made him the Father of all Cubans
It was February 27, 1874. A disastrous day for the homeland. Deep in Sierra Maestra, in a remote spot known as San Lorenzo, the earth was dyed a sacred red. Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, the initiator of Cuba’s struggle for independence, died in unequal battle against the Spanish. He was only 55 years of age.
On February 27, 1874, Cuba lost a prodigal son, who left us an example of patriotism and humility, which has immortalized him well beyond the last shot he fired.
The revolution in arms lost the moral symbol of a heroic generation that under his guidance had managed to break the silence of centuries of domination, willing to fight for the genuine right of a people to be free, with little more than a machete.
Céspedes left a legacy in San Lorenzo, where his brief but fruitful stay became another chapter in his epic existence.
He arrived at the site near the Contramaestre River after being removed from his position as President of the Republic in Arms by the insurgents’ House of Representatives.
Deprived of all protection and accompanied only by his eldest son, the Father of the Homeland would have as his last resting place a little house of guano with a hammock for a bed and a stream in which to bathe. He walked with his shoes tied with wire, leaning on a branch to support himself, and almost blind, he taught two children to read and write.
He had a relationship with a young woman who bore him a son he never knew, played chess and received the affection of the local residents, who respectfully called him the "old president."
But the greatest concern of the man who launched Cuba’s first war of independence, October 10, 1868, would always be for his beloved island. It is no surprise that, foreseeing his destiny, he wrote in his diary, a few days before his death "May my bones rest next to those of my parents, in this beloved land of Cuba, after having served my homeland until the last day of my life."
