Protest of the Thirteen

The Protest of the Thirteen (Spanish: Protesta de los Trece), which occurred on March 18, 1923, was a pivotal event in Cuban history, and was the first significant action of the newly established Cuban intellectual class against the government of Cuba, since Cuba had earned its independence from Spain.^[1]^[2]^[3] Led by the young poet and lawyer Rubén Martínez Villena, a group of young intellectual writers – which would later be called the Group of Thirteen (composed of fifteen members, not thirteen) – publicly denounced the administration of President Alfredo Zayas y Alfonso for its corrupt practices,^[4] notably what they alleged to be the fraudulent purchase of the Santa Clara convent at an inflated price, which was emblematic of the widespread corruption during that era.^[5]^[6] The protestors were also concerned about the future of the convent itself, which was the first one constructed in all of Cuba.^[7]

^ Tribuna. "Protesta de los Trece: el despertar de una generación". www.tribuna.cu (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-03-18.
^ Benjamin, Jules R. (1975-02-01). "The Machadato and Cuban Nationalism, 1928-1932". Hispanic American Historical Review. 55 (1): 66–91. doi:10.1215/00182168-55.1.66. ISSN 0018-2168.
^ "Directrices · ICAA Documents Project · ICAA/MFAH". icaa.mfah.org. Retrieved 2025-03-18.
^ "La Protesta de los Trece hizo renacer la conciencia nacional". Granma.cu (in Spanish). 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2025-03-18.
^ Wilkinson, Stephen (2011). "Review of Fantoches 1926: Folletín Moderno por once escritores Cubanos, Ana María Hernández; Indicios, señales y narraciones: Literatura Policíaca en lengua española". International Journal of Cuban Studies. 3 (4): 389–391. ISSN 1756-3461. JSTOR 41945967.
^ Naranjo Orovio, Consuelo (March 2021). "A network of networks: Fernando Ortiz, crossroad between cultures". HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory. 11 (1): 52–66. doi:10.1086/713372. hdl:10261/250771. ISSN 2575-1433.
^ "Convent of Santa Clara of Assisi". Convent of Santa Clara of Assisi. Retrieved 2025-03-18.

[:0-1] Tribuna. "Protesta de los Trece: el despertar de una generación". www.tribuna.cu (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-03-18.

[2] Benjamin, Jules R. (1975-02-01). "The Machadato and Cuban Nationalism, 1928-1932". Hispanic American Historical Review. 55 (1): 66–91. doi:10.1215/00182168-55.1.66. ISSN 0018-2168.

[3] "Directrices · ICAA Documents Project · ICAA/MFAH". icaa.mfah.org. Retrieved 2025-03-18.

[4] "La Protesta de los Trece hizo renacer la conciencia nacional". Granma.cu (in Spanish). 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2025-03-18.

[:2-5] Wilkinson, Stephen (2011). "Review of Fantoches 1926: Folletín Moderno por once escritores Cubanos, Ana María Hernández; Indicios, señales y narraciones: Literatura Policíaca en lengua española". International Journal of Cuban Studies. 3 (4): 389–391. ISSN 1756-3461. JSTOR 41945967.

[6] Naranjo Orovio, Consuelo (March 2021). "A network of networks: Fernando Ortiz, crossroad between cultures". HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory. 11 (1): 52–66. doi:10.1086/713372. hdl:10261/250771. ISSN 2575-1433.

[7] "Convent of Santa Clara of Assisi". Convent of Santa Clara of Assisi. Retrieved 2025-03-18.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]