Mariana Grajales Coello

Mother of Lieutenant General of the Liberation Army, Antonio Maceo. Cuban by birth; daughter of Dominican emigrants and married first to Fructuoso Regüeiferos, father of Felipe, Fermín, Justo and Manuel.

After being widowed in 1840, she married at the age of 35 with Marcos Maceo, on July 6, 1851, in the church of San Nicolás de Morón and San Luis, Oriente, giving birth to Antonio and eight other children: María Baldomera, José Marcelino, Rafael, Miguel, Julio, Dominga de la Calzada, José Tomás and Marcos.

Together with her husband she educated all her children in honesty, friendship, morality, patriotic love and civic conduct. Throughout her life and in the most difficult moments she displayed tremendous strength of character. She managed to raise disciplined, orderly boys and young men of good customs and clean, even incapable of uttering obscene words. She instilled in her children an unbreakable energy through her example.

From October 12, 1868 she exhorted all members of the family to join the liberation forces and accompanied them in the mountains, through the trials of war without regard for her age and gender.

There are plenty of examples of her patriotism, loyalty to principles, love for her husband and children. Before the tears of women over the severity of the wounds received by the Lieutenant in the combat of Potrero de Mejía, on August 7, 1877, José Martí puts in the mouth of doña Mariana Grajales the phrase: "Away, away with skirts from here! I cannot bear tears! Bring Brioso".

Of her 13 children only two survived the wars: José Tomás and María Dominga.

She died in exile, in Jamaica, on November 28, 1893. Her remains were brought to Cuba on April 23, 1923.

José Martí himself, when he was evaluating the parents of Antonio Maceo and their influence on him, left for posterity the following: "... from the mother more than from the father, comes the son, and it is great misfortune to owe the body to weak or worthless people, to whom one cannot owe the soul; but Maceo was fortunate, because he came from a lion and a lioness".