HIST 6705: Esteban Montejo By Joanna Louis-Parker

Esteban Montejo

By, Joanna Louis-Parker, HIST 6705 Family History and Biography

The Autobiography of a Runaway Slave Esteban Montejo is an account of a creole Cuban Cimarron named Esteban Montejo. The text provides an in-depth look at slavery in the Spanish-Caribbean colonial era. The autobiography, edited by Miguel Barnet and Alistair Hennessy, is an account of a life which straddled the transition period between enslavement and emancipation. In the account, Montejo provides details about his own experiences, as a runaway, with family, labor practices in and out of slavery, also with African mysticism, multi-culturalism, war and international relations in Cuba. At the time this account was being collected, the subject himself was 105 years old. Esteban had been born in an estate hospital (also called an infirmary) on 26 December 1860. He found out most of the details regarding his birth and parentage from his godparents. According to Esteban his father was an enslaved African of Nigerian extraction and his mother was enslaved woman who had come from a French colony. Esteban was sold shortly after birth and does not remember his parents.Esteban’s first memory of work was as a boy clearing bagasse (leftover cane fibers) from the boiling house after the juice had been extracted. While he does not state the age at which he first runs away, he attempted escape from Flor de Sagua, this escape was not successful, but Esteban would try again. From his time in slavery Esteban described the cultural and religious traditions of the Congolese slaves, and the Lucumi (who originated from present-day Nigeria or from the Gulf of Guinea). Esteban described the living conditions in the barracoons in which slaves lived on the plantation. He gives vivid descriptions of the physical appearances of the various ethnic groups that lived on the Flor de Sagua plantation where he grew up and he recollects details about the social lives of the slaves including the familial and sexual relationships of the enslaved, traders and indentured laborers. A few years after his initial attempt, Esteban made a successful escape into forest and successfully avoids recapture for 12 years.  Montejo described his life in the forests and the freed community that he would have distantly encountered during his life as a runaway. Throughout his account Esteban frequently talked about his self- imposed solitude on the plantation, in the forest, and in his life after slavery.  

Following emancipation, Esteban worked in the Southern region of Cuba as a laborer on plantations, cutting sugar for low wages. The irony of his post emancipation work does not escape Montejo, and in his recollections, he made comparisons between life as a slave and life as a plantation worker.  These comparisons and contrasts are valuable to researchers in determining the pre-existing conditions that led to outbreak of war in 1895.

Throughout, his narrative Esteban described his casual relationships with women, which were mostly sexual liaisons lasting for brief periods. His recollection about his potential fatherhood due to his enthusiasm for casual sexual relationships is one of apathy, as far as he knew he did not have any children. Esteban spoke with some fondness about male friendships, who were fellow sugar cane workers on the plantation. Esteban also seemed fond of older African men and women, and recalled with great details, the spiritual rituals performed during funerals and the casting of spells. Esteban was indifferent towards Christianity.

The narrative ends with Esteban’s experiences in the War of Independence beginning in 1895. He spoke very highly of Black leaders, Maceo, Gomez and Quintin Banderas. Esteban described his motivation for joining the war. He was interested in freedom at any cost. As the war continued through the guerilla fighters faced lots of shortages including lack of water. Esteban recalled how it was for the guerilla fighters. In addition to physical deprivation, the revolutionary cause was always in jeopardy because of deserters and untrustworthy men, including a general called Cayito, who was murdered for being a traitor. These experiences also caused Esteban to confirm his bias against close association and trust in people. As Esteban’s narrative closed, he reflected on the outcomes of the war and deification of certain war leaders and vilification of others. He returned finally to Las Villas the area where he had worked after emancipation. He worked on a sugar plantation until his retirement, still never marrying or having any children.

The Autobiography is an important literary work that sheds light on a poorly documented aspect of Cuban history. It is one of the few sources which gives a firsthand account of a formerly enslaved Afro-Cuban. Because of this rarity it has been widely read since its publication, and its authenticity and historical veracity has been highly scrutinized and debated. Barnet called the work a biographical novel which called into question the veracity of the account. Michael Zeuske points out that some of the omissions; over sixty years of Esteban’s life are not accounted for in the narrative; may be due to the political climate surrounding post-independence Cuba in the 1960’s when the account was being compiled and published. (1997) Other omissions he attributes to Miguel Barnet’s writing style. Barnet refers to the work as a biographical novel, indicating that he created a story of the accounts he collected from Esteban. (Barnet and Hennessey 1993). Zeuske examined public notary records and newspaper accounts to establish Esteban’s authenticity as well as his relationship with members of the social and political elite, on whom he was somewhat economically dependent following his war service in 1900. (Zeuske 1997 272). Additionally, Esteban’s involvement in a failed political uprising later in his life may explain why he was reluctant to speak n the contemporary political situation. Whatever the case, Barnet’s account of Esteban Montejo serves a crucial purpose. Esteban is very candid about subjects, which are silenced or underrepresented in other similar kinds of accounts. Esteban freely talked about African religious practices and ethnicity. He talked openly about sexuality and the fluidity of family relationships among the enslaved during and after slavery. He also helps to answers questions about race and its role in shaping of post-emancipation and post-independence Cuba. (Zeuske 1997 269).  Considering the candid nature of the narrative, the historically verifiable context, and the admitted literary license undertook by the author, historians can accept the account is an accurate representation of the life of Esteban Montejo.

References

Montejo, Esteban, and Miguel Barnet. The Autobiography of a Runaway Slave, Esteban Montejo. London: Macmillan Caribbean, 1993. Print.

Zeuske, Michael. "The ‘Cimarrón’ in the Archives: A Re-reading of Miguel Barnet’s Biography of Esteban Montejo." New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids71.3-4 (1997): 265-79. EBSCOhost. Web. 31 Mar. 2019.