Fighting the battles of our times, the nation reaches the 168^th anniversary of the birth of the apostle of its independence. Sometimes we wonder what José Martí would have done before this or that problem. Martí is for Cubans, even in the 21^st century, the archetype of wise decision, the beacon of the impartial position, the paradigm of virtue and deontology, the architect of unity around the common interest...

But turning Martí into an inert manual is sacrilege. Sometimes his phrases are shallowly appealed to, ignoring contexts, legitimizing or discrediting. Extrapolating Martí to the realities of today implies more than copying a phrase in quotation marks or having the photo of a text that is fragmented at will to circulate in social networks. To extrapolate Martí, it’s necessary to dive deep in vastness of his thoughts.

Let’s take into account that the wealth of Marti's ideas is not the only one from which the society we are trying to build is nurtured; but it’s a very deep and comprehensive source.

Our Marti heritage is linked to the causes of social justice and national sovereignty. Although the scenario is not the same he lived, it’s necessary to intelligently assume his legacy: social justice must be thorough; the national sovereignty, already won, must be defended.

Related to national sovereignty, there’s an essential element clearly pointed out by Martí: anti-imperialism. Whoever is interested in keeping the true sovereignty of this nation cannot ignore Marti's teachings on imperialist pretensions. A Sovereign Cuba is Unimaginable Without Being Anti-imperialist.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff