the mustache or the man?

So, first and foremost! Jose marti might possibly have the greatest mustache ever.
that being said... i can proceed with my post.

i have a few thoughts on his works.
Marti talks about some salvation gained through poetry and artistic displays. At first this seems all nice, like what artist hasn't condoned and talked about the arts? But thinking more deeply about it, the salvation he talks about in "the opposite of ornate and rhetorical poetry" could represent so much more than it seems. It is impossible to deny that Marti brings a political element into every work, therefore i feel it is acceptable to view this salvation from a political angle.
Second i look at his life. Marti is considered a national hero of Cuba, He certainly did not attain the title by fighting in a war. Marti is down in history as one of the most influential and important people because of his artistic discharge we are lucky enough to read now. Marti gained his influence through his literary works. To me this si the salvation he is talking about. If the fighting and the pre-independence days are represented by the crocadiles and flames coming from the earth then the noble life or liberty and peace is ushered in with the pen.
As a soldier Marti was mortal, he died in battle against spanish troops when he was 42 (i think...that could be wrong). but as an artist and writer Marti became immortal, figuratively taking on the burden of his land. He becomes one of the "sons of A land enslaced [that] live for it Silently, and die." (simple verses). Marti becomes the father of modernism and the hero of cuba, ushering in a new age a soldier would never be able to do.

Weeeelllll, since i last unloaded my thoughts and opinions on the conference we haven't read too much. However, we have discussed much about Sab and read Sab ces't moi, pero no me gusta el nombre porque hablo espanol. We have also had the honor of talking to Nina Scott.
Now i think the most interesting thing said on our skype conversatoin was the information about theresa. At first it seemed to me that theresa was being really nice to Sab and was helping him out. But then Dr. Scott said something that struck me, that i knew to be true but still hit me. The fact that teresa and sab were equals. They were both outcasts. Teresa had a specific beauty about her "a beauty which comes from the soul". if i were to characterize the appearence or apeal of Sab i feel it would be pretty much the same. He can't be defined by race or class, he isn't a classic prince charming, just like theresa isn't a classic female protagonist. however something about the two of them is the most beautiful thing in the novel.
Sab goes on to say "this world has not understood you, but i who know you should worship and bless you". He knews her for what she truly is "an angel".
i feel like the word misunderstood is a cop-out and does not encapture the true characteristics of these two. They are the sub characters in a sense that hold all of the meaning and importance. The fact that the two of them seem to be considered sub-human gives them more humanity than anything else.
Al first glance/read, teresa lacks the compassion and personality that carlota does, however in the end we realize that it is acutally teresa that contains the substance as previously mentioned.
Sab too, at first he cannot be characterized, he is simply Sab. He is an orphan and slave, without a true race or distinguishable features. because his outer shell and first apearance hold so much sub-human feelings. its is all the greater that he turns out to be the one with the most inside of him.

i suppose that the most interesting thing that came through after reading the specified texts would be the personality of el libertador. colloquially speaking he is the man. more formally, he presents a confident, educated, and powerful persona giving the unified and abused Americas someone to follow into victory. during the time of the Jamaica letter, Bolivar was in exile. this was a time of thought for him. He spent a lot of his time thinking about the current political state of the world. With great forsight and thought, Bolivar knew two things, that all of the americas needed to unify or else the failure of venezuela would reoccur. Secondly, he knew that they needed the help of either brittain or another outside nation. This is interesting because to me it shows that he knew when he needed help although he was such a significant figure alone. "My delirium" is the text that gace me the impression of his singular power. Early on he wrote "Nothing could stop me. I reached the
glacial heights, and the atmosphere took my breath away. No human foot
had ever blemished the diamond crown placed by Eternity's hands on
the sublime temples of this lofty Andean peak."
el libertador elevates himself the though of mere mortals and becomes something devine. He does not become god but he becomes something much more than man.
He then wrote "All men have I surpassed in good fortune, for I have raised myself above all. The earth lies at my feet; I touch Eternity; beneath me I feel the throbbing of Hell; beside me I contemplate radiant planets, suns of infinite dimensions. I gaze upon the realms of space which enclose matter; I decipher, on your brow, the history of the past and the thoughts of Destiny."

anyone who writes that clearly has the confidence and power to unite and lead the Americas. I don't want to come off like i am calling him an offensive powerhouse. If anything i feel like the power all came from his brain. Just like Senor said, he was very well educated was very familiar with enlightenment thinkers. If anything enlightenment thinkers inspired revolt in order to create something better. Also, while benjamin Franklin never led an entire unified army against opressers however i see many parallels in thinking and decisions. He writes "However, such unity will not come to us though divine miracle buit through sensible action and well-organized effort."
to me, this screms Ben. This is impressive with is insight alone. Bolivar was in fact the perfect person to unite and fight for the Americas. He is easily one of the top mind of history, educated and ready for politcal fights. He had the ambition to unite and lead. and finally, he was not an outsider, he understood the pain of the americas despite his wealth.
viva el libertador