Juan Gualberto Gómez: A Journalist Loyal to Cuba’s Independence.
The distinguished patriot of Matanzas, Juan Gualberto Gómez, a native of the town that bears his name in the municipality of Unión de Reyes, receives the tribute of the Union of Journalists of Cuba and becomes an example of the professional of the word who kept alive the legacy of Marti’s ideology.
In these days of homage for the 170th anniversary of the birth of journalist and patriot Juan Gualberto Gomez, which is commemorated this July 12th, his informative imprint stands out, because his vibrant and independent writing, appropriated the conscience of Cubans who fought for freedom from the Spanish yoke and then to tear out the claws of the empire on the adored Island.
Outstanding were his articles, among these the series entitled «La cuestión de Cuba en 1884», published in the Madrid newspaper «El progreso». It was about an analysis of the Cuban situation and its historical antecedents, the play of the political parties that ended up betting for the autonomy, on the basis of wide reforms, which provoked a great demotivation among the Creoles.
Historians say that his work as a journalist began in Paris, where he arrived in 1869 to learn the carpenter’s trade and then he began to work as a journalist, collaborating in a theatrical magazine and as a correspondent for newspapers in Brussels and Geneva.
His materials revolved around the topic of French politics; but the expansion of his own knowledge allowed him to evaluate with greater certainty the Cuban problematic itself, thus becoming a supporter of independence.
When he returned to Cuba after the Pact of the Zanjon, he established a close friendship with José Martí, whom he supported in the conspiratorial activities prior to the Chiquita War, but both were deported for that cause.
When returning to Cuba, in 1890 he published an article in the newspaper «La Fraternidad», titled «Por qué somos separatistas», in which he theoretically defended the idea that Cuba should separate from the Spanish metropolis; he was taken prisoner and released after appealing to the Supreme Court of Spain.
This antecedent was taken advantage of for his return again to Cuba with the position of Delegate of the Cuban Revolutionary Party in the Island for the preparations of the necessary war of 1895. After the events of February 24th in Ibarra, he was exiled to Ceuta.
He continued in Cuba exercising a militant journalism since the dawn of the 20th century. It began in 1901 with President Tomás Estada Palma in the face of his surrendered position to the U.S. government. His fight against the Platt Amendment was a clarion call for the journalism of the time.
The distinguished patriot of Matanzas, Juan Gualberto Gómez, a native of the town that bears his name in the municipality of Unión de Reyes, receives the tribute of the Union of Journalists of Cuba and becomes an example of the professional of the word who kept alive the legacy of Marti’s ideology.
Written by María Elena Bayón.
