Perucho in memory (+audio).

Sensitivity, wisdom and justice were the virtues that enhanced the existence of this Cuban hero, whose motto, «to die for the Homeland is to live» immortalizes his imprint in the notes of the melodic song with which the combative and patriotic spirit of the Island shines every day.

Bayamo, birthplace of the immortal author of the most famous Cuban patriotic musical piece, saw the birth of Pedro Figueredo Cisneros, «Perucho», on February 18th, 1818 and, since then, that young man of sharp intelligence and notorious artistic-literary gifts, was worthy of the nickname of «Gallito Bayamés», a nickname well extrapolated to the fervent actions he demonstrated in pursuit of the independence cause of the Island.

Throughout his life, Perucho developed as a lawyer, philosopher, pianist and cartoonist, standing out also for his skill in caricature, the sharpness of his literary criticism and, mainly, for the mambisa blood that flowed through his veins and that made him a leading exponent of the growing insurrectionary vibe that was brewing in the largest of the Antilles.

His name was mentioned in events such as the stabbing of the portrait of Queen Isabel II in 1853, the suspension of the newspaper «El Correo de la Tarde» for his strong objections to the colonial government, the fact that he complained to the highest governor of the country about the incompetence of the then mayor of his hometown and the conversion of his home and his sugar mill «Las Mangas» into a center for clandestine meetings and a military camp during the war of 1968, respectively.

However, in addition to urging the people of Bayamón to join the emancipating cry of Céspedes, as Chief of Staff of the Liberating Army, he bequeathed to posterity the most famous patriotic composition of the largest of the Antilles, «La Bayamesa», a musical piece whose verses he wrote on the saddle of his horse «Pajarito» and to date gloriously venerated and become the anthem of our nation.

Perucho continued his anti-colonial struggle until mid 1870 when he fell ill with typhoid fever and, still convalescent and lacerated by the illness, he was taken prisoner by the Spaniards in the Santa Rosa de Cabaniguao farm in Las Tunas. Later he was taken to Santiago de Cuba and shot on August 17th.

Sensitivity, wisdom and justice were the virtues that magnified the existence of this Cuban hero, whose motto, «to die for the Homeland is to live» immortalizes his imprint in the notes of the melodic song with which the combative and patriotic spirit of the Island shines every day.

…ONLINE AUDIO.

Written by Yadiel Barbón.