Illustrious Cuban Educators: José de la Luz y Caballero.

His work and action represent an incentive for present and future generations. Thus, Marti’s affirmation becomes valid today: «[…] this is how the Cuban homeland loves José de la Luz, with the attachment of a son».

An educator of all times should be evoked on this Day: José de la Luz y Caballero because «Teaching is maintained beyond the physical life of those who exercise it».

Luz y Caballero, who was born in Havana on July 11th, 1800 and died there on June 22, 1862, was a Cuban philosopher and educator. He stood out for his collaborations on scientific, philosophical and other topics. He is considered one of the people who have done the most for public education in the country.

Martí, knowledgeable about the work of Luz y Caballero, valuing the intellectual aura that surrounded him and the fact of pouring into the educational field of the Island the foreign experience, expressed: «He knew how much was known in his time; but not to teach that he knew it, but to transmit it. He sowed men».

It is added to this the fact that part of a generation of Cubans who played an important role in the struggle for the independence of Cuba, were students of Luz y Caballero, which caught the attention of the Apostle. This is evidenced when he expresses: «[…] He could have been a lawyer, with respectful and rich clientele, and his homeland was his only clientele […] he wanted to be nothing to be everything, because he was a teacher and turned in a single generation a people educated for slavery into a people of heroes, workers and free men».

Luz y Caballero was a man committed to the time that marked his life. He chose the path of teaching as a way to achieve Cuba’s independence. He had a glimpse of the power that education has on the individual. In this regard José Martí wrote: «[…] He was able to show off his copious knowledge in the academies without effort, and only showed what he knew of the truth, when it was essential to defend it. He was able to write in works […] and he did not write in books, which reward, but in souls, which tend to forget […]».

José de la Luz y Caballero was as wise as he was humble and Martí, upon meeting him in person, was impressed with the kind, polite and serene manner in which he always treated him. On this matter he expressed: «[…] I was poor, I was very poor and very unhappy before him, and he always treated me like a brother and like a monarch».

It is pertinent to express that for Cubans it is an honor and a privilege to have had in the history of the teaching profession the figure of Luz y Caballero. His work and action represent an incentive for present and future generations. Thus, Marti’s affirmation becomes valid today: «[…] this is how the Cuban homeland loves José de la Luz, with the attachment of a son».

Written by Dr Osvaldo Manuel Álvarez Torres.