In Camagüey, the city of meandering streets and a labyrinth-shaped layout, there has been a dichotomy between the current names of its arteries and those that the City Council began to change since 1899, at the proposal of its neighbors, to honor its illustrious sons or due to the modernizing effort of the new century. This kind of ambivalence misleads its less expert inhabitants, visitors, or becomes a challenge for those who wish to guide a lost friend in our Legendary Camagüey. In 1939, Gerardo Castellanos mentions his concern regarding the issue in Thinking about Agramonte. I appropriate his words, because I am going to talk about a public road to which he refers. […] Why delete Alegrías Street and Desengaño Street, and Micaelita Street, and Palmas Street and Angeles Street and Arrieta Street, and so on with other classic local colors?
However, I do not totally agree with Castellanos, with Nicolás Guillén or closer in time with Manuel Villabella; which brought up that question on several occasions. I believe that cultural memory is important and that substituting public names entails taking risks: that of the persistence of both denominations in unison. There are names that indistinctly settle with their presence in several generations or that manage to dismantle the one that preceded it and, finally, as a toponymic bastion, there are those that people does not recognize despite their official status; In the latter case, I have always believed that the means to promote changes have been insufficient and therefore the meaning, for the inhabitants, lacks a judicious basis.
This is the case of the Arrieta alley -designated thus by the former owners of the place-, a name that is still deeply rooted while the current (official), Javier de la Vega, is not linked with the street. The proposal to name this street dates from November 12th, 1928, presented by the councilor Jorge Martínez Barreras and approved almost immediately, although two years later the plaque with the reference to the new name still did not exist.
Credit where credit is due
But … who was Javier de la Vega or why select his name for that artery? This may be the question of many people from Camagüey who do not know the patriot, who was born in Puerto Principe on May 6th, 1851 and died in his hometown on November 23th, 1934.
Javier was a prominent military man who participated in both liberation contests (1868 and 1895). On November 16, 1868, at the age of 17, he joined the independence struggle and fought under the command of Federico Castellanos Arteaga and Commander José Ramón Guerra Agüero. In 1872 he became part of the “Caonao” Regiment, under the orders of Major General Ignacio Agramonte and, later, El Mayor fell in combat in the pastures of Jimaguayú on May 11th, 1873. Along with his comrades in arms, they subordinated themselves to Major General Máximo Gómez, who promoted him to Lieutenant. He was the protagonist of important battles of the Liberation Army between 1873 and 1874, such as: La Sacra, Las Guásimas, Palo Seco, Naranjo-Mojacasabe and the assault on the town of Cascorro. In 1876 he participated in the Second Occupation of Las Tunas. He was wounded six times and at the end of the Ten Years’ War with the El Zanjón pact in 1878, he held the rank of Commander.
His patriotism and military knowledge led him to join the troops of the Generalissimo Máximo Gómez in Camagüey on June 5th, 1895. He participated in the Circular Campaign and served as Chief of the General Staff of the Liberation Army, until October of that year. He was appointed adviser to Major General Mayía Rodríguez, the new military chief of Camagüey, to organize the Third Corps forces in the region. In January 1896 he left for the West with 25 of his men, with the intention of rejoining Gómez’s troops; He then crossed the Júcaro – Morón path and participated with the veteran General in various military actions. On May 14th of that year, he temporarily took over the Third Corps, a position for which he was later officially appointed, on July 28th of the same year. The Governing Council approved his promotion to Major General, granted by the Generalissimo Máximo Gómez in 1897. In December of that same year he was removed from his position accused of indiscipline and disorganization in the military force under his command, however, he was exonerated from the reports in January 1898, but he did not accept to lead the liberation forces again.
Faithful until his death
During the Neocolonial Republic, due to the reputation and prestige he enjoyed, he was elected President of the Territorial Council of Veterans of Camagüey. On March 17th, 1930, he was accused of signing a manifesto against the Machado dictatorship, a government of which he was one of its most staunch detractors.
He died in his hometown on November 23th, 1934, and was buried in the General Cemetery of Camagüey. Some of his personal belongings are displayed at the Ignacio Agramonte Provincial Museum, among them the copious correspondence as Chief of the Third Corps of the Liberation Army stands out.
Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García
