This work is part of an installation that proposes rectifications and reinterpretations of the painting The Death of Maceo by the Cuban artist Armando Menocal (1863–1942). For this piece, José Manuel Mesías focuses on the figure of Pedro Díaz, a soldier in the wars of independence, and his controversial role at the time of Maceo’s death. According to the investigation conducted by the artist, this character is credited with having rescued the bodies of Maceo and Francisco (Panchito) Gómez Toro. However, everything indicates that he left the place where this happened to look for reinforcements that he never requested, being Juan Delgado and his men, who rescued the corpses of the fallen heroes. Shortly after, Díaz received the rank of major general and took over Maceo’s troops.

In the painting, Díaz looks at himself in a mirror while putting on the third star that indicates his rank as a major general. The mirror returns the image of Maceo, whose place one might think Díaz wanted to occupy. The scene takes place in a palm grove, a re-creation of the one that appears in Menocal’s painting. In the distance, the death of Maceo is represented. Saddlebags can be seen in the foreground, also based on those that appear in Menocal’s painting. Still, on this occasion, they respond that, according to Díaz’s diary, the documents belonging to Maceo’s staff were lost days after his death.

Mesías graduated from the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro in 2009. His work uses the language of painting to question, analyze, and rewrite official histories, thus enriching scenarios and notions about the Cuban nation.