Jose Marti
59th Street (at Seventh Avenue - The Artist's Gate)
Jose Marti was a Cuban author and revolutionary leader. Marti was imprisoned by the Spanish in 1868 and fled to the United States in 1880, forming the Cuban Revolutionary Party in New York in 1892. Marti returned to Cuba in 1895 to join in the successful fight for independence and was killed in combat.
Sculptor Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington (1876 - 1973) completed this larger-than-life bronze equestrian statue (her last major work) in 1959. The dark granite pedestal was designed by the firm of Clarke & Rapuano after a donation by the Cuban government. Unveiling of the monument was delayed until 1965 due to disputes between supporters and opponents of dictator Fidel Castro, who had come to power the same year as the statue's completion. (NYCGovParks.org)
Apostol de la independencia de Cuba. Guiade los pueblos
Americanos y paladin de la dignidad humana. Su Genio
literario rivaliza con su clarividencia politica. Nacio
en la Habana el 28 de Enero de 1853. Vivio quinceanos de su
destierro dn la cuidad de Nueva York. Murio en el combate de
Dos Rios Provincia de Oriente el 19 de Mayo de 1895
Apostle of Cuban independence. Leader of the people of America
and defender of human dignity. His literary genius vied with his
political foresight. He was born in Havana on January 28, 1853.
for fifteen years of his exile he lived in the City of New York.
He died in action at Dos Rios in Oriente Province on May 19, 1895