In the insurgent battlefield, on March 8th, 1872, Eduardo Agramonte Piña would lose his life, a man who, in body and soul, had given himself to the war of 1968. His death, which occurred instantly, would be a severe blow to the deed and all those who he was known and those who saw in him the most fervent patriot. An example of that pain was expressed in the verses written by Ramón Roa.
(…)
Empero, cuenta en el sepulcro helado
Con la firme constancia del hermano,
Que mientras lata un corazón cubano
Tu sangre generosa vengará.
(…)
Uncertainty about the news
The news of his fall was soon picked up and disseminated by the Spanish press, specifically by La Quincena newspaper, where he was branded as the ringleader.
However, in other places in Cuba there was uncertainty as to the veracity of the above information, because Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, in a letter sent to his wife, Ana de Quesada, explained that a captain from Camagüey alleged that those were false news.
However, the Simoni family hid the fatal event from Matilde for some time, who was fragile after the loss of her youngest children. Her wife, mother, partner and friend poured her love into Arístides, the only offspring she had left, who stood out for her precocious intelligence and in her beloved Eduardo. Therefore, with this they sought to delay the impact, which undoubtedly affected everyone.
The biggest pain
Emilio Agramonte Piña, Eduardo’s brother, was the depositary of the will written by him in 1870. While he was in New York, he wrote a letter to Matilde in 1873, in which he told her that he had not been able to overcome the tragedy, since he learned of it in a Spanish publication.
She also added that she had not doubted such details, because she knew and had witnessed his fiery character and was aware that he was not afraid of dying facing the enemy.
Conclusions
Eduardo Agramonte Piña was a man of revolution without a doubt. His career is proof of this, so his death was not in vain, because as José Martí said; “Death is not true when the work of life has been well accomplished.”
Bibliography
Figueredo, Fernando. La Revolución de Yara. Tomo I. Instituto Cubano del Libro. La Habana, 1969.
Cento, Elda coords. Documentos: Correspondencia de Eduardo Agramonte Piña y Matilde Simoni Argilagos. Cuadernos de historia principeña 6. Patrimonio y legado al siglo XXI. Editorial Ácana. Camagüey, 2007.
Cento, Elda coords. El patriciado camagüeyano en vísperas del Alzamiento de Las Clavellinas. Cuadernos de historia principeña 11. Patrimonio y legado al siglo XXI. Editorial Ácana. Camagüey, 2012.
Godínez Sosa, Emilio. Eduardo Agramonte Piña. Instituto Cubano del Libro, Editorial Arte y literatura. La Habana, 1975.
Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García
