A paradigm of an upright man and honorable soldier, he was one of the most notable figures of the Cuban independence war of the 19th century.   

He was the main protagonist of the 1878 Protest of Baragua, a symbol of the Cubans' revolutionary intransigence before the hesitations and wavering attitudes of some. 

He was born on June 14, 1845 in Majaguabo in eastern Cuba. On October 12, 1868, he joined the independence war that had begun two days before, with the rank of sergeant. Due to his extraordinary leadership qualities and his unequaled fearlessness, he was subsequently promoted in rank until he achieved that of major general in May 1877. 

His name is linked to the most important political and military events of the Ten Years War (1868-78). He fought the enemy relentlessly and also confronted military sedition, indiscipline and every attempt to generate division. 

At the end of the war, he had excelled as political leader and gave greater dimension to his revolutionary stature by embodying the aspirations of the popular masses in the Protest of Baraguá.  In those circumstances, he was a factor of unity among those who were advocating continuing the struggle until independence and the abolition of slavery were achieved. 

The war that began on February 24, 1895 received a great boost with Maceo's arrival on Cuban soil.  The invasion campaign began alongside Máximo Gómez that same year was, without doubt, the event in the war that most highlighted his military capacity and talent because the invading forces carried the flame of the revolution to the west of the island in only three months. 

He fell on December 7, 1896, in a battle in San Pedro, a few kilometers from the city of Havana.  He had taken part in 830 combat actions and received 28 bullet wounds during his epic existence.   Major General Máximo Gómez summed up the tragedy in these words: 

"The homeland mourned the loss of one of its most courageous defenders, Cuba the most glorious of its children and the Army the first among its generals."

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