Eleven articles in which a group of authors, through rigorous use of sources, present their views on the beginning of the Necessary War, constitute the body of the text "Perspectives on February 24th, 1895," presented this weekend at the Pavilion Cuba in Havana by Jorge Luis Aneiros Alonso, president of the Union of Historians of Cuba (UNHIC, in Spanish).
Why revisit this event on the eve of the 131st anniversary of the uprising? Regarding this, the member of the Cuban Parliament stated that the relevance of the text is justified by the ideological war that besieges the country, the current economic situation, and José Martí's principles, such as the one that states: "Whoever rises up today for Cuba, rises up for all time."
"Let us remember that those patriots, who fought for independence, also swore to defend the integrity of the country, its sovereignty, and patriotic values—those that today, more than ever, we must preserve," he stated.
Compiled by La Mezquita publishing house, the first to emerge from the UNHIC in Holguín, the book can be consulted digitally, free of charge, on the organization's website. Its prologue notes that the perspectives presented achieve a systemic approach to the event and place the eastern revolutionaries in the historical hierarchy they deserve in relation to these events.
"Likewise, it delves into the failure of the uprisings in the west, brings to light the participation of regions previously silenced by historiography, and demonstrates that throughout the island, independence fighters were preparing to reignite the struggle against Spain at José Martí’s call."
The first chapter covers the uprisings in the east: Santiago de Cuba, the eastern highlands, the Cauto Valley and Guacanayabo, and Holguín; while the second is dedicated to the events of February 24 in the central-western region: Matanzas, Las Villas, and the incorporation of the Pinar del Río province, regions where the events and figures remained unknown or unstudied.
