Cuban and Guatemalan artists begin a cultural event in this capital today, dedicated to music and the 160th anniversary of the birth of Cuba''s national hero, Jose Marti.
The organizing committee of the 9th Meeting of Cuban and Guatemalan Artists consists of the National Association of Cuban Writers and Artists and the island's embassy in this country.
Marti, born on January 28, 1853, lived in Guatemala between 1877 and 1878. He knew and deeply admired the traditional roots of the people living in those days.
Here, he taught French, English, Italian and German literature, and History of Philosophy at the Central Normal School, directed in 1877 by Cuban exile Jose Maria Izaguirre.
Marti also gave lectures at the University of San Carlos and met Maria Granados, who was immortalized in the famous poem "La niña de Guatemala" (The Girl from Guatemala), who among many messages is stated to have "died for love."