José Julián Martí Pérez (Havana, January 28, 1853 – Dos Ríos, May 19, 1895) was a great thinker and man of action recognized as the Apostle of Cuban independence. This eminent writer, teacher, politician, and strategist was also a pioneer in various fields. For example, he is known as the first Latin American journalist to work as a newspaper correspondent. He is also recognized as the main precursor of the important literary movement known as modernism. Through a study of his vast work, he can also be identified as a precursor to fundamental contemporary paradigms such as sustainable development and human rights (political, civil, economic, social, and cultural).
From a very young age, he dedicated his talent and works to Cuban independence from colonialism to Latin American and Caribbean unity, and to global balance.
For his ideas, he was imprisoned, tortured, and exiled to Spain while still a teenager. There he studied at the universities of Madrid and Zaragoza. Throughout his life, he visited various countries in Europe and the Americas and lived in several of them.