Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (cover designer: René Avila, design: Héctor Villaverde, layout: Reina Segrera, director: Otto Fernández), "UNIÓN: XXX Aniversario Moncada / 120 Aniversario José Martí," 1983.

This commemorative issue of UNIÓN celebrates two pivotal moments in Cuban revolutionary history: the 30th anniversary of the assault on the Moncada Barracks (July 26, 1953) and the 120th anniversary of José Martí's birth (January 28, 1853). The dual celebration connects Cuba's 19th-century independence hero with the 20th-century revolutionary movement, emphasizing the ideological continuity between Martí's anti-colonial struggle and Castro's revolution.

René Avila's striking cover design features a bold, high-contrast portrait of José Martí rendered in a screenprint aesthetic using black, cream, and red against a vibrant revolutionary red background. Behind Martí's profile, stylized modernist apartment buildings rise symmetrically, symbolizing the social transformation and urban development of revolutionary Cuba. The poster-like composition merges Martí's 19th-century romantic nationalism with the architectural ambitions of 1980s socialist Cuba, creating a powerful visual bridge between past and present revolutionary ideals.

The Moncada Barracks assault, led by Fidel Castro and a group of revolutionaries, marked the beginning of the armed struggle that would eventually overthrow the Batista dictatorship in 1959. José Martí, Cuba's national hero and poet-revolutionary, remains the spiritual and ideological foundation of Cuban independence and revolutionary thought. His writings on independence, social justice, and Latin American unity continue to inform revolutionary Cuba's cultural and political identity.

This issue features essays, poetry, and fiction celebrating both legacies, with contributions from prominent Cuban writers and intellectuals including Jesús Orta Ruiz, Eliseo Diego, Cintio Vitier, and many others listed in the contributors section (Fichero). Published by UNEAC and printed at the Imprenta "Urselia Díaz Báez" of the Ministry of Culture, this commemorative edition demonstrates how UNIÓN magazine served as a vehicle for reinforcing revolutionary historical memory and national identity through literature and visual culture.