Literatura y humanismo en José Martí: valoraciones desde el contexto actual

Resumo

This article, through the work of José Martí himself as one of the greatest intellectuals of the 19th century in the Americas, attempts to clarify some of the keys to his humanist vocation. On the basis of Martí’s pedagogical, aesthetic, and literary ideals, it reveals his love for the arts in general and the way in which he placed the human being at the center of his entire ideology. The article highlights the Cuban National Hero's consideration about reading, particularly that of good literature, as a contribution to the ethical formation of individuals. It also alludes to his sense of criticism, which he called the exercise of judgment, and how such criticism must be noble and charged with positivity. It points out the fact that many critics today recognize Martí as the true initiator of the Modernist Movement, by virtue of the structural and substantive values, as well as the significance of his poetic work and his artistic-literary essays. Finally, it is pointed out as well how humanism is the central axis of Martí’s entire ideology, which is the reason why it has great relevance in a political-economic and socio-cultural context such as the current one, marked by positions against the human race in contrast to those in favor of the values of humanity.