Joaquín de Agüero y Agüero, precursor of the independence struggles, was born into a wealthy family on November 15th, 1816. He studied law in Havana, but returned to his city of origin as soon as he received the news of the terminal illness of his father, from whom he soon inherited his assets. He stood out for his generosity, establishing a free public school for poor children in the town of Guáimaro. He freed his slaves in 1843, and gave each a piece of land so they could survive.
Agüero’s action was considered illegal and, to avoid problems with the justice at the time, he was forced to leave Cuba with his family to go into exile in the United States. However, the immense love he felt for his land made him return three months later. At the end of 1849 he founded the Liberating Society of Puerto Príncipe, whose objective was the preparation of an armed uprising against the colonial power, and which extended activities to various regions of the Island. This society secretly printed manifestos and proclamations, in which it denounced the abuses committed by the colonial authorities.
On July 4th, 1851, Joaquín de Agüero declared himself in rebellion against the Metropolis and, in a meeting with a large group of conspirators at the San Francisco de Jucaral estate, drafted an act of independence. The Joaquín de Agüero movement failed, accompanied by Fernando de Zayas, Miguel Benavides, Tomás Betancourt, Adolfo Piedra and Miguel Castellano. They went to Punta de Ganado, on the north coast, where they thought it would not be difficult for them to leave the island. Betrayed by a traitor, they were captured on July 24th by forces of the Cantabrian regiment, under the command of Captain Carlos Conus. They were taken to Puerto Príncipe, when they were tried by an extraordinary court martial, which sentenced Agüero, Zayas, Benavides and Betancourt to the death penalty by hanging. However, the executioner died prior to the date of the uprising, so the court changed the sentence to the death penalty by shooting, and on August 12th, 1851, without giving in their revolutionary ideas, they were shot in the savannah Beatriz de Méndez (currently Joaquín de Agüero Square).
Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García
