José Martà was a Cuban poet, essayist and journalist, who became the symbol of Cuba's fight to get independence from Spain. He said "No man has any special right because he belongs to any specific race; just by saying the word man, we have already said all the rights." .
He was born in Havana and he was the son of a Spanish soldier. He published Versos sencillos in 1891 during a really hard time in his life. This was after he and his wife had separated. .
He always emphasized the need to come to terms with the continents' multi-racial identity and the importance of teaching the history of America all the way from the Incas to now. .
Gabriel Garcí Márquez was a Latin-American journalist, novelist and story writer, and a central figure in the Magic Realism movement. This term was used in Germany in the 1920's to describe some contemporary painters, whose works expressed surrealistic visions. He basically considered himself a realist as he wrote about Colombian and Latin American reality just as he saw it.
He was born in the banana zone of Colombia. His parents abandoned him and he was raised by his grandparents. He later wrote about BolÃvar and his last journey down the Magdelena River. .
One Hundred Years of Solitude was the most popular work of Magic Realism. Garcí said that he tries to tap the magic in commonplace events. .
Ruben Dario was born on January 18, 1867 in Nicaragua. His parents divorced and he was raised by his godfather Colonel Felix Ramirez. HE began reading at age 3 and publishing poems by the age of 12. In 1882 he tried to get a scholarship to a college by reading one of his poems but he was turned down because his poems were too liberal and filled with anti-religious sentiments.
Throughout his life he was confronted with prejudice because of the darkness of his skin. Also throughout his life he indulged in alcohol and women in large amounts.
