Ramón Roa Travi Era

Lieutenant Colonel of the Liberating Army. He participated in different battles alongside Ignacio Agramonte, Máximo Gómez, Julio Sanguily, among others.

He was born in Cifuentes, Villa Clara. His second surname is also cited as Garí, a pseudonym by which they referred to his mother.

He fought against the Spanish in the War of Restoration of the Dominican Republic (1861-1865). When the 1868 conflict began, he was in Argentina, where he served as private secretary to the president of that country, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento.

He went to New York to enlist in the failed expedition of the steamship Lilliam, directed by Domingo Goicuría. He joined the war as an expeditionary on the second voyage of the steamship Salvador, landed at Casilda, on the south coast of Las Villas, on September 17, 1870. He survived the hardships of that landing, and due to the situation he found in Las Villas, he continued toward Holguín practically on foot.

In early 1872, already with the rank of Captain, he went to Camagüey where Major General Francisco Villamil, chief of the Villarean forces operating in that province, entrusted him with the command of a battalion. A few days later he was granted a transfer to the General Staff of Major General Ignacio Agramonte, who appointed him his aide.

In July 1872 he participated in the combats of El Salado and Jacinto. He was at the one in Jimaguayú on May 11, 1873, where his chief fell. In July of that year, he began to hold a similar position in the General Staff of the new chief of Camagüey, Major General Máximo Gómez. He participated in the combats of Las Yeguas, Santa Cruz del Sur, La Sacra, Palo Seco, Naranjo-Mojacasabe, and the Battle of Las Guásimas.

On May 25, 1874, he was promoted to Commander and took part in the invasion of Las Villas in 1875. On July 24, 1875, he received the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In October of that same year, he went to the General Staff of Major General Julio Sanguily as aide-secretary. On March 29, 1876, President Tomás Estrada Palma appointed him Secretary of Foreign Relations and he temporarily took charge of the Treasury Department.

On January 24, 1877, his resignation was accepted, and on February 10, he joined the Jacinto Infantry Regiment in Camagüey. He opposed the Sedition of Santa Rita on November 5, 1877.

He was part of the leadership of the Revolutionary Committee of the Center, which negotiated the Pact of Zanjón on February 9, 1878. He was the bearer, along with Colonel Emilio Luaces, of a letter addressed to Spanish General Arsenio Martínez Campos, in which the modifications required to sign the agreement were set forth. He later accepted a job position in the Spanish government.

He wrote two works about his experiences in the war: A pie y descalzo and Montado y calzado. The publication of the first of these caused a strong disagreement with José Martí. He did not participate in the War of 95. In October of that year, he departed for the Canary Islands in voluntary exile with his large family. He returned after the war ended in 1898.

He served in various positions during the Republic, including that of officer of the Treasury Department, classifier of documents at the National Archives, and subdirector of the latter. He was a member of the Academy of the History of Cuba.

He died in Havana on January 12, 1912.