I am not a Freemason. However, like Peter Wake (and Abraham Lincoln before him), I feel greatly honored to be considered a “friend” of their fraternity. The entire role of Freemasonry in the thirty-year struggle for Cuban independence is a fascinating and largely unknown story, one far too complicated for the limited space of this novel. All of the major Cuban leaders in the revolutionary movement, including the two to whom this book is dedicated, were Freemasons.
But their work didn’t end with independence. Throughout the turbulent history of post-1898 Cuba, Freemasons have provided a steady and compassionate hand to their fellow islanders, both Masonic and non-Masonic. Usually these efforts were accomplished without public acknowledgment or acclaim. None was needed, for that is the Masonic way of life.
Freemasonry in Latin America is a serious personal commitment for a man. Following the path is not easy, nor is it intended or expected to be. This is even truer for the twenty-nine thousand Freemasons of Cuba today, who have proven themselves the true heirs of Martí and Maceo. And so, amidst all of our twenty-first-century uncertainty, I am confident of this: Freemasons will always be one of the best parts of Cuba’s wonderful culture, quietly doing the right things for the right reasons, to the benefit of their country and their people.
Onward and upward for them all . . .
Robert N. Macomber