Praise for body-mind-soul unity in Marti's thought

 GUANTÁNAMO, Cuba, Jan 29 (ACN) The short course on José Martí, No hay enfermedad que me detenga (No illness will stop me), given by Dr. Anselma Betancourt Pulsan, professor at the University of Medical Sciences of the province Guantánamo in honor of the 170th anniversary of the birth of the Cuban National Hero was very well received by high school and university students and faculty, who learned about little-known facts about the Apostle of Independence.

Dr. Betancourt, who is director of the Provincial Council of Scientific Health Care Societies, pointed out that despite his delicate health throughout his life—he was treated by 23 doctors and stomatologists from seven countries, who diagnosed him with sarcocele, sarcoidosis, chronic catarrhal conjunctivitis with drooping of the right eyelid and acute broncholaryngitis—Martí never stopped his struggle against the Spanish colonial power.

He also suffered from severe headaches and physical limitations caused by the shackles placed on him while he was in prison and subjected to forced labor in the San Lazaro Quarries.

Likewise, the specialist remarked that Martí was one of the first thinkers to proclaim the body-mind-soul unity and to make theoretical and conceptual contributions to the development of the nascent Cuban psychological science.

“His willpower was admirable,” she said, “as was his resolve to fulfill his patriotic duties despite his ailments and pains without relinquishing his love for freedom and Cuba's independence. (…) That is why the new generations of Cubans must learn and feel that our heroes are beings with virtues and flaws who make good and bad decisions, so they can honor them and emulate their values to contribute to the development of the country, to the greatness of the Homeland and to the defense of sovereignty and of the socialist Revolution.”

And she concluded: “The ethics and vision of José Martí and of his most advanced disciple, Fidel Castro Ruz, are paradigms and fundamental beacons in the ethics of Cuban revolutionaries.”