Tribute in Bayamo to the poet and patriot José Joaquín Palma

Héctor Iván Espinoza Farfán and Jenifer Marilú Méndez Pinto, ambassador and consul of the Republic of Guatemala in Cuba, respectively, paid tribute in Bayamo to the illustrious poet and patriot José Joaquín Palma (Bayamo, 1844-Guatemala, 1911).

Accompanied by students, directors of the Culture sector and members of the provincial committee of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) in Granma, the diplomats laid a floral offering before the mausoleum erected in San Juan Park, where the remains rest. of the hero, author of the lyrics of the Guatemalan national anthem.

José Joaquín Palma y Lasso de la Vega was an assistant and trusted man of the Father of the Nation Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, and one of the main editors of the independence newspaper The Free Cuban.

When the Revolution broke out in 1868, he immediately joined the war, and five years later he was commissioned to travel abroad with the aim of raising funds for the Cuban cause.

On the 178th anniversary of his birth, which is commemorated this Sunday, September 11, Espinoza Farfán had words of praise for the intellectual and patriot who helped found the Revolutionary Committee of Bayamo and was among the initiators of the wars for independence.

“Remembering his life and work is the best way to honor and maintain the great legacy that José Joaquín left us, as a writer, bard, journalist, diplomat and friend of the Apostle José Martí Pérez,” said the ambassador.

Espinoza Farfán and Méndez Pinto participated in the award ceremony for the José Joaquín Palma Literary Merit Award, an award conferred annually by the UNEAC in the province. In this 2022 it fell to the writer Ángel Larramendi Mecías, creator with a commendable career and director of the Manuel Navarro Luna promotion center, in the city of Manzanillo.

Palma died in Guatemala on August 2, 1911.