From passion for aeronautics to Cuban folklore.

Thus became a legend that lover of aeronautics, who was not the first or only balloon pilot on Cuban soil, but his mark survives in the popular memory with that of «He flew like Matias Perez!

Among Cubans, the use of those short and witty phrases, of popular origin, that contain an educational or moral message and that we call proverb, is very common.

Although sometimes the origin is imprecise or unknown, there are sayings that were born from real experiences and characters of our history to become familiar and typical of the way of communicating in this Island.

An example of this is Matías Pérez, a Portuguese man who lived in Havana and made tarpaulins and awnings. A trade that was quite remunerative for him and for which he received the nickname of «King of the awnings».

But the real notoriety of Matias Perez occurred with his unexpected disappearance on Sunday, June 29th, 1856, while he was flying in his hot-air balloon.

This Portuguese, passionate about aeronautics, was a progressive man of great aspirations, who by dint of determination and daring made his dream of flying in the air come true.

It is said that in addition to reading and studying publications related to aviation, especially those coming from Europe, he treasured documents on the subject, writings or drawings made by the genius of the Italian Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci.

Such interest led him to buy the hot air balloon, Ville Paris (The Village of Paris), from the famous French pilot and balloon builder, EUGÈNE GODARD, for a value of 1,250 pesos.

With that artifact, Perez went to the Campo de Marte or Plaza de Marte, later renamed Parque de la Fraternidad (Fraternity Park) and from there he began his pilgrimage through the skies.

On June 12th, 1856, a day with excellent weather conditions, the Portuguese made his initial flight from the southern area of the Capitol to the fort of La Chorrera.

The second flight took place on June 29th, 1856. That day the wind was too strong and a gust of great intensity dragged it towards the heights and propelled it over the sea.

Little by little it flew away from the Plaza de Marte until it disappeared among the clouds without leaving any trace.

Thus became a legend that lover of aeronautics, who was not the first or only balloon pilot on Cuban soil, but his imprint lives on in popular memory with that of «He flew like Matias Perez!

It is the most common phrase among Cubans when someone leaves or disappears from a place.

However, the popularity of Portuguese has inspired other works and cultural models.

For example, COPREFIL, the Cuban agency responsible for the design, production and sale of postage stamps, celebrated the centennial of Matias Perez’s flight with a «first day edition» and honored him again with two stamps, of three and thirteen cents.

The event, which can be considered the first fatal aeronautical accident in Cuba, was also used by musician David Torrens in the song «¿Quién me quiere a mí?», a musical theme that became very popular in the early 2000s. «Like Matias Perez your love flew,» says a verse of the song.

There is also the comic strip Matías Pérez, by Luis Lorenzo Sosa, published by Editorial Pablo de la Torriente Brau.

The series is part of the Cuban publishing heritage and particularly of the world of children’s and young people’s comics. It describes a Matías Pérez lost in a hot-air balloon and reappeared in a very distant galaxy. The scenario is ideal for him to act as an intergalactic avenger and return from time to time to Havana to solve pending matters.

Written by Ana González Goicochea.