Editorial Letras Cubanas - Testimonio series (cover illustrator: Luie Vega, cover designer: Cecilia Guerra, editor: Eduardo Heras León, author: Manuel Piedra Martel), "Mis primeros 30 años," December 1979. Offset print, book.

The cover of "Mis primeros 30 años" (My First 30 Years) features Luie Vega's dynamic illustration of independence fighters wielding weapons and flags, set within an octagonal frame surrounded by blue halftone dots against bold red vertical stripes. Cecilia Guerra's design transforms the memoir into a visual celebration of Cuban revolutionary heroism, with the central battle scene evoking both historical engravings and contemporary poster aesthetics. The geometric framing and bold color scheme—red, blue, and cream—echo the Cuban flag while the halftone treatment gives the illustration a modern, pop art sensibility. This design approach reflects the revolutionary government's effort to present 19th-century independence struggles as foundational to 20th-century socialist ideology, creating visual continuity between past and present liberation movements.

Published as part of Editorial Letras Cubanas' "Testimonio" series in December 1979, this memoir provides firsthand testimony of Cuba's War of Independence from a participant who lived through its most decisive moments. The work narrates the memories of a hero from the final war of independence, documenting the vicissitudes, combats, bitterness, and victories of a mambí in the fields of Cuba Libre. The author's patriotism, sense of humor, crude sincerity, and exceptional witness to some of war's most brilliant and dramatic moments have produced both a valuable historical document and one of the most engaging works in Cuban campaign literature.

Manuel Piedra Martel (1868-1954) was twenty-six years old when the War of 1895 erupted. He served in Maceo's escort and quickly became a field aide to General Antonio Maceo, participating in the Invasion and the remarkable campaign of Pinar del Río. In three years, he rose from second lieutenant to colonel in the Liberation Army, returning from the manigua with fourteen scars and the bitter experience of seeing his country occupied by Yankee troops. His memoir, dedicated "to the solicitude of my wife and my children," provides intimate testimony about the psychological and physical costs of independence struggle. The book was edited by Eduardo Heras León and printed at Establecimiento 08 "Mario Reguera Gómez" in Havana, ensuring this essential testimony remained accessible to revolutionary Cuba's readers seeking to understand the historical foundations of their national identity.