Esteban Montejo facts for kids

Esteban Mesa Montejo (born December 26, 1860 – died February 10, 1973) was a Cuban man who was born into slavery. He managed to escape and live freely before slavery was officially ended in Cuba in 1886.

He lived as a maroon, which means he was a runaway slave hiding in the mountains. Later, he also fought in Cuba's war for independence. Esteban Montejo is famous because his life story was written down and published in a book in 1966. He was over 100 years old when the book came out. He lived to be 112 years old! While his birth year was traditionally thought to be 1860, some records suggest it might have been 1868.

In 1963, a Cuban expert named Miguel Barnet contacted Montejo after seeing him in a newspaper. Barnet recorded many interviews with Montejo. From these recordings, Barnet wrote a book about Montejo's amazing life.

Esteban Montejo's Early Life and Escape

Esteban Mesa Montejo was born into slavery in 1860 on a sugar farm in Cuba. As a child, he learned about the Afro-Cuban religion called Santería. This religion mixes parts of Catholicism with traditions from the Yoruba religion of West Africa.

When he was a young man, Esteban was determined to be free. He bravely escaped from the plantation where he was enslaved. He ran away to the mountains, where other runaway slaves, known as maroons, lived in secret communities. These communities were safe places, far from the plantation owners. Slavery in Cuba did not end until 1886. By then, Montejo was about 26 years old and had been living freely for some time.

After slavery ended, Esteban Montejo worked on farms and plantations. These were very common jobs in Cuba at the time. He later joined the fight for Cuba's independence from Spain in 1898. In his final years, he lived in a special home for veterans.

Sharing His Story with the World

In 1962, Esteban Montejo was featured in a newspaper article. The article was about Cubans who were over 100 years old. Both people mentioned in the story had once been slaves. After reading about him, an expert named Miguel Barnet reached out to Montejo. Barnet wanted to interview him and learn all about his long life.

Barnet carefully put together the interviews and published a book in 1966. The book was called Biografía de un cimarrón in Spanish. It was later translated into English with titles like The Autobiography of a Runaway Slave and Biography of a Runaway Slave.

The book shares many details about Montejo's life. It talks about Afro-Cuban religious practices. It also describes his time as a runaway slave. Montejo also shared his memories of the Cuban war for independence from Spain in 1898. The United States also got involved in this war. Barnet's book finishes around 1905, after the US military had occupied Cuba for a few years.

See also

In Spanish: Esteban Montejo para niños

• Miguel Barnet