The figure of Antonio Maceo in cuban philately (1855-2018): historical memory, national identity and cultural heritage
Keywords:
Cuban philately, Antonio Maceo, historical memory, national identity, cultural heritage, postage stamp, iconographic analysis.Abstract
Philately constitutes a documentary source of inestimable value for the study of historical memory and the construction of national identities. This article analyzes the evolution of the representation of Antonio Maceo Grajales (1845-1896) in Cuban postal issues from 1855 to 2018, aiming to understand how the postage stamp has functioned as a vehicle of heritage transmission and as an instrument of symbolic configuration of the independence hero. Based on a qualitative approach and an iconographic analysis method, a corpus of 32 postal issues and commemorative cancellations linked directly or indirectly to the figure of Maceo was examined. The results reveal three major stages in the philatelic representation of the hero: a first phase of symbolic construction (1907-1958), a second of revolutionary resignification (1959-1989), and a third of heritage consolidation (1990-2018). It is concluded that Cuban philately has played an active role in perpetuating Maceo's ideology, adapting its representations to the political and aesthetic contexts of each period without distorting the symbolic core of the hero. This study contributes to the appreciation of postage stamps as historical documents and assets that are part of the nation's intangible cultural heritage.
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