Marta Rojas (May 17, 1928 – October 3, 2021) was a Cuban journalist, historian,

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

writer, and revolutionary heroine. A witness to the 26 July 1953 assault on the

Moncada Barracks The Moncada Barracks was a military barracks in Santiago de Cuba, named after General Guillermo Moncada, a hero of the Cuban War of Independence. On 26 July 1953, the barracks was the site of an armed attack by a small group of revolutionaries ...

, she reported on the subject of censorship to '' Revista Bohemia''.

Biography

Marta Rojas, a tailor's daughter, was born in

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

, on 17 May 1928 (other sources state 1931). She studied at the Escuela Normal. Though she thought she wanted to be a physician, she changed her mind once she arrived in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, graduating from the Escuela Profesional de Periodismo

Manuel Márquez Sterling Manuel Márquez Sterling (born Carlos Manuel Agustin Márquez Sterling y Loret de Mola on August 28, 1872 in Lima, Peru – December 9, 1934, Washington, DC, United States) was a Cuban diplomat and interim President of Cuba for 6 hours on January ...

. Rojas worked for ''Revista Bohemia'' magazine, and after the revolution, also for '' Verde Olivo'' and '' Trabajo''. She worked for the newspaper '' Granma'' since its founding, covering numerous national and international events (including numerous trips by

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

abroad). She also served as a war correspondent in Vietnam. Rojas wrote several novels dealing with the founding of the Cuban nation and the struggle of the mestizos since the 18th century. Turning to historical fiction, she has published several books, including ''Moncada'', ''La Generación del Centenario'', ''El juicio del Moncada'', ''Tania la Guerrillera'' (coauthor) and ''El que debe vivir'' (testimonies about

Abel Santamaría Abel Santamaría Cuadrado (20 October 1927 – 26 July 1953) was a leader in the Cuban Revolutionary movement. Biography Abel was born in Encrucijada, Las Villas, Cuba. He and his sister Haydée allowed revolutionaries including Fidel Castro ...

). In 1992 an extract translated by Jean Stubbs and Pedro Perez Sarduy from Rojas's (then unpublished) novel ''El columpio de Rey Spencer'' was included in the anthology ''

Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora, ...

'', edited by

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's youngest and first black female book publisherJazzmine Breary"Let' ...

. She died of a heart attack on 3 October 2021.

Awards and honours

Rojas has received numerous awards, such as Casa de las Americas Prize (1978), the

José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...

National Journalism Award (1997), in recognition of her life's work; and the Premio Nacional de Periodismo (2015).

Selected works

* 1960, ''Moncada : un juicio insolito'' * 1964, ''La generación del centenario en el Moncada'' * 1971, ''Tania, the unforgettable guerrilla'' * 1978, ''El que debe vivir'' * 1996, ''El columpio de Rey Spencer'' *2007: ''Holy Lust''

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, Marta 1928 births 2021 deaths Cuban journalists People from Santiago de Cuba Cuban women journalists 20th-century Cuban novelists Cuban women novelists Historical novelists 20th-century Cuban historians 20th-century Cuban women writers Women historians