Jorge Ibarra Cuesta ’50

At age 85, Jorge Ibarra Cuesta, died in Havana on Wednesday, June 7, 2017. The influential Cuban historian was  author of works essential to understanding the process of construction of the Nation.

For his merits he was distinguished with the National Prize of Social Sciences (1996), the Ministry of Culture and the Cuban Book Institute, and the National History Award (2008), awarded by the National Union of Historians of Cuba, in both cases For the work of all life.

Born in Santiago de Cuba on August 11, 1931, he studied in that city and then in the United States. On his return, he graduated as a lawyer at the Universidad de Oriente. In the Santiago of the 50 participated in the clandestine fight against the dictatorship.

After the revolutionary triumph he worked in the National Council of Culture, joined the Revolutionary Armed Forces, worked in the ICRT and the Institute of History and was developing a consistent work in which he emphasizes his contribution to the writing of the Manual of Cuban History , Of the Political Direction of the FAR. The University of Havana was awarded the title Doctor in 1997. He was an active member of the Writers Association of Uneac.

His height as an essayist was revealed in Mambisa Ideology (1967); Approaches to Clio (1979); Nation and national culture (1981); A psychosocial analysis of the Cuban: 1898-1925 (1985); Cuba: 1898-1921, political parties and social classes (1993); Cuba: 1898-1958, structures and social processes (1996); And Máximo Gómez in the face of imperialism (2000).

About himself, with modesty, he affirmed: “I have only thought of sketching problems, revising the conceptions of the past and discussing everything. I do not pretend to have created a new school or way of seeing things. If I have made some contributions it has been in the field to stimulate discussion and criticism among my colleagues. It is true that, like every historian, I have brought to light some unpublished facts, but the interpretation I have given it is yet to be discussed. In the end, it is not I who values ​​my work more knowledge of cause, but the new promotions of historians.

When Ibarra dedicated the XVIII International Book Fair of Havana in 2009, his colleague Fernando Martínez Heredia spoke these words to extol the legacy of who now says goodbye: “Jorge has come the long way with the upstanding flag of the social scientist And the difficult militancy of the intellectual, with unshakeable honesty, a lofty and growing prestige, and an ever-fighting spirit. ”

This is a translation of the following page:  http://www.granma.cu/cuba/2017-06-07/fallecio-el-historiador-jorge-ibarra-cuesta-07-06-2017-23-06-41

 

3 thoughts on “Jorge Ibarra Cuesta ’50”

  1. He was certainly an intellectual talent, congratulations on a great life.
    Good luck to his family.
    Clay Hardon

  2. I am Jorge Ibarra’s eldest grandson. My family and myself feel honoured to see this obituary. My grandpa used to talk about his time at Williston in East Hampton and later on at Wharton School Of Economics. The period of time spent in the US shaped his character and his views on the political and social situation in Cuba. Jorge Ibarra was a proud Cuban, proud of his caribbean roots. He left a deep trace in all persons that surrounded him. Ague, as we used to call him, was a great historian, a honest and modest person and an adorable grandfather.

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