Heriberto Marín Torres (1929)

 

Heriberto Marín Torres shares a vivid recollection from his childhood when his mother, who worked for Blanca Canales, took him to her house. One day, he witnessed people crying and learned that a group of innocent people had been massacred while leaving church on Palm Sunday. This event deeply impacted him. The tragic news spread slowly through his rural neighborhood since few households owned radios in 1937.

A year later, when he was nine, his teacher Ana Luz Marchand took her students on a trip to San Juan. The children, unaccustomed to riding in vehicles, became sick during the journey. When they arrived at the teacher’s house, they were washed with a hose to clean them up. Their tour included stops at the University of Puerto Rico, Luis Muñoz Rivera Park, and La Fortaleza. While visiting the gardens of La Fortaleza, Marín saw Governor Winship, the man responsible for the Ponce Massacre, a memory that stayed with him forever.

The massacre and Winship’s oppressive rule fueled Marín’s growing opposition to colonial rule. He disliked being forced to study in English and felt that those murdered were innocent victims. He recalled the story of Rafael Cancel’s mother, who had gone to help the wounded and returned covered in blood. Although the U.S. Civil Rights Commission held Winship responsible, he was never punished. Instead, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Puerto Rico.

Marín became an avid reader in his school’s library, reading about figures like Simón Bolívar and Victor Hugo. At 14, he joined the Cadets of the Republic, the youth wing of the Nationalist Party. Through connections with fellow nationalists in Jayuya, he became involved in the military branch of the movement. His first experience as a cadet was a march in honor of José de Diego. To afford his uniform, he worked in agriculture.

Another defining moment in his life was the assassination of nationalist Ángel Esteban Antongiorgi in 1938. During a celebration marking the U.S. invasion of Puerto Rico, Antongiorgi attempted to assassinate Winship but accidentally shot Colonel Luis Irizarry instead. Antongiorgi was killed, and his body was never found.

In 1948, after Pedro Albizu Campos was released from prison, Marín met him for the first time. Albizu gave a speech in Ponce, remembering the massacre and Antongiorgi’s death. Later, Marín heard a moving story about a woman who revealed a small portrait of Antongiorgi, bringing Albizu to tears. Marín finally met Albizu through Griselio Torresola, who brought him to Canales’ house, where Albizu embraced him, treating him like a son. Marín would later serve nine years in prison for his role in the 1950 Nationalist Revolution.

-ER

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References:

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Claridad. (2019, 20 de noviembre). 23 de noviembre de 1928: Nace Heriberto Marín Torres. Recuperado de https://claridadpuertorico.com/23-de-noviembre-de-1928-nace-heriberto-marin-torres/

Marín Torres, H. (2011). Coabey, el valle heroico (2ª ed.). Editorial Patria. Recuperado de https://books.google.com/books/about/Coabey_el_valle_heroico.html?id=L2MmpwAACAAJ

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Gana tu Día. (2024). La historia de Don Heriberto Marín | Gana tu Día Ep. 230 [Video]. YouTube. Recuperado de https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWNgB4Gi-ss

Bauzá, Nydia. Es Noticia. (2024). Heriberto Marín: “La Masacre de Ponce nunca se ha borrado de mi mente”. Es Noticia PR. https://esnoticiapr.com/heriberto-marin-la-masacre-de-ponce-nunca-se-ha-borrado-de-mi-mente/