Jose Joaquin Palma
Jose Joaquin Palma (Bayamo, Cuba, September 11, 1844 - Guatemala City

Guatemala City

Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...

. August 2, 1911. Son of Pedro Palma y Aguilera and Dolores Lasso de la Vega. Went to "San José" School in Bayamo under the direction of José María Izaguirre whom he would later meet again in Guatemala. Wrote poetry

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

 since his youth and is considered an important Cuban poet. Joined the revolutionaries of the Ten Years' War

Ten Years' War

The Ten Years' War , also known as the Great War and the War of '68, began on October 10, 1868 when sugar mill owner Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and his followers proclaimed Cuba's independence from Spain...

 in Cuba (1868–1878) and served briefly as a recruiter for the revolutionary forces and as an aid to Carlos Manuel de Céspedes

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes del Castillo was a Cuban planter who freed his slaves and made the declaration of Cuban independence in 1868 which started the Ten Years' War...

, the leader of the insurrection. When Bayamo was about to fall to the Spanish forces, he set fire to his own house in the city-wide fire started by the residents.
Went to Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

 in an attempt to gain support for the Cuban insurrection. In Guatemala he met the Honduran Marco Aurelio Soto

Marco Aurelio Soto

Marco Aurelio Soto was President of Honduras from 27 August 1876 until 19 October 1883. he was known as a liberal. He was a reforming President and had a great impact on the Honduras of his time, including the establishment of the Biblioteca Nacional de Honduras in 1880.-Biography:Dr. Marco...

 who later became president of Honduras

Honduras

Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

. Went to Honduras as private secretary to President Soto in 1876 and left this county and returned to Guatemala when Soto resigned as president. In 1896 the government of Guatemala promoted a contest to select the lyrics of the national anthem - the National Anthem of Guatemala

Himno Nacional de Guatemala

The National Anthem of Guatemala was written by José Joaquín Palma and composed by Rafael Álvarez Ovalle. The anthem was adopted in 1896 as the winning entry in a competition held by the government. The lyrics were modified slightly in 1934 by Professor Jose Maria Bonilla Ruano, a Spanish grammar...

. The winning piece was entered anonymously by José Joaquín Palma. Not until 14 years later, in 1910, did he reveal that he was the author. Received a gold medal from the Guatemalan government for his literary and patriotic contributions.