With the outbreak of the Ten Years’ War, the political conflicts that had already manifested themselves in the ideological and even literary spheres intensified. The antagonism between independentists and autonomists was compounded by the autonomist affiliation, which had its own spaces for expression. However, the independence movement dominated the intellectual landscape, especially in the jungle, although the Western intelligentsia generally sympathized with the war effort.

Most of the architects of the October 10, 1868, uprising were men with vast scientific and literary culture, such as Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Ignacio Agramonte, and Antonio Maceo—an aspect of the Titan’s personality that is sometimes overlooked—to name just a few. Poetry and the arts in general enjoyed social recognition; although the vast majority of slaves, peasants, and illiterate workers were excluded from enjoying the cultural fruits.

Romanticism would have already reached the peak of its expressive possibilities in the context of Cuba and modernism and naturalism were blossoming. It could even be conjectured that although Romanticism had fertilized the conspiratorial spirit with utopias, it was not so compatible with the action required by the independence effort and would give way to the aforementioned currents.

A campaign literature proliferated, including poems, stories, and humorous texts, not always of great aesthetic appeal but authentic in bearing witness to the struggle and inciting the most lukewarm sectors to it. Journalism also had this nuance.

From the very beginning of the feat, a migratory diaspora began, the largest flow of which arrived in the United States. However, it maintained links through correspondence with other sectors of society, which had somewhat disintegrated in the jungle and exile. The Emigration, in addition to playing an active role in fundraising and political campaigning, had its own journalistic outlets, and some of its members were able to exercise literary creation with greater freedom. Beginning in 1971, Enrique Piñeyro began publishing “El mundo nuevo” in New York; later, Manuel Mestre would join him. This and other publications would have sections dedicated to literature, especially those of a national imprint.

The urgency of the war hindered the socialization of literature in the central and eastern parts of the island. However, in the western part, literary gatherings and soirées did take place, such as the “Literary Nights,” which Nicolás Azcárate revived upon his return to Cuba in 1869. These gatherings and soirées suffered from a certain elitism, unlike the recreational and educational societies, which were accessible to writers and readers from lower social classes. It was not unusual for editors and editorial staff to develop, in parallel or informally, similar forums. In all of these spaces, the independence movement crept in, both in words and actions, and thus did not always escape colonial censorship.