Born in Havana, Captaincy General of Cuba, to Mariano Martí and Leonor Pérez Cabrera, Spanish immigrants of modest means. He grew up amid plantation slavery and tightening Spanish colonial control, shaping his early political conscience.

Studied under educator Rafael María de Mendive, who nurtured his writing and anti-colonial convictions in Havana. Mendive’s salon exposed him to liberal ideas and poets, sharpening his sense that culture and politics were inseparable.

As the Ten Years’ War erupted in 1868, he wrote and published sharp patriotic pieces, including the poem-drama "Abdala" in Havana. Spanish authorities treated youthful dissent as sedition, placing him under close surveillance and pressure.

Arrested in Havana after a letter was used to accuse him of disloyalty to Spain, he was tried and condemned to harsh labor. Shackles scarred his legs, and the experience hardened his belief that colonial rule relied on terror and censorship.

Deported to Madrid, he published "El presidio político en Cuba," detailing abuse in Cuban penal colonies and naming colonial cruelty. The pamphlet circulated among reformers, establishing him as a fearless young voice against Spanish repression.

He pursued studies in law and philosophy and letters in Spain, using academic life to refine his rhetoric and political arguments. He connected with liberal circles that debated empire, constitutionalism, and the limits of reform for Cuba.

Relocating to Mexico City, he wrote for major newspapers and mixed with intellectuals in the post-Reform era. His essays and reviews blended aesthetics with civic duty, while he supported Cuban independence from abroad through print networks.

In Guatemala City he taught and lectured, engaging local elites and students while reflecting on regional identity beyond Cuba. The experience strengthened his vision of a united, self-respecting Latin America resisting both old empires and new powers.

After the 1878 Pact of Zanjón, he returned to Havana and tested the space for legal political action. He married Carmen Zayas Bazán and resumed organizing, but he quickly concluded that Spanish promises offered neither full rights nor independence.

When renewed conspiracies surfaced in 1879, Spanish officials arrested him in Havana and expelled him for political agitation. The crackdown convinced him that lasting change required disciplined organization and international coordination, not intermittent uprisings.

He established himself in New York City, translating, lecturing, and writing while building ties among Cuban and Puerto Rican exiles. From the U.S. press and immigrant clubs, he learned to mobilize diaspora communities and raise funds for independence.

He released "Ismaelillo," tender poems addressed to his son that reshaped Spanish-language lyricism with modern sensibilities. The book combined personal emotion with civic yearning, showing how private life and national struggle could coexist in art.

He acted as a consul and representative for governments such as Uruguay and Argentina while reporting on U.S. politics and culture. His dispatches explained North American modernization and inequality, warning Latin readers to avoid naïve dependence.

In "Nuestra America," written in New York and circulated across the region, he argued that Latin America must govern itself with local knowledge and dignity. He cautioned against racial division and U.S. expansionism, urging solidarity and education.

He helped establish the Cuban Revolutionary Party in New York to coordinate strategy, fundraising, and discipline among exile clubs. Working with leaders like Máximo Gómez, he aimed to prevent factionalism and ensure a republic “with all and for all.”

After years of planning, he traveled with revolutionary leaders and entered Cuba to join the renewed war against Spain. He coordinated with commanders such as Máximo Gómez, carrying letters, proclamations, and a vision for a democratic postwar republic.

He died in combat at Dos Ríos in eastern Cuba while riding into a clash with Spanish forces, against the caution of seasoned officers. His death transformed him into the revolution’s moral symbol, elevating his writings as a civic scripture for Cuba.