Reflection of "Biography of a Runaway Slave"

In the1960’s, Latin America was experiencing another revolutionary time in it’s history. The theory of Marxism was steadily growing and Latin American literature began to rise in prominence globally. Miguel Barnet, a writer of that time, sought out 103- year-old Esteban Montejo, an African man born into slavery in Cuba, to interview him about his past life experiences. From those experiences came “Biography of a Runaway Slave, ” an autobiographical account of Montejo’s life. From his first memories of the obscurities of nature to laboring endlessly while describing life on a sugar plantation he runs away from for a life in the woods where he feels free until the abolition of slavery arises saying he is free, soon realizing he’s not, he finds purpose. That purpose is joining in on the fight for Cuba’s independence from Spain for a chance to not only gain authentic freedom, but equality as well. Through Montejo’s observant eyes, the reader is taken on a journey that encounters the issues of hegemony, racial inequality, and religion that over time leads to the transculturation of Spanish, African, Chinese, and European cultures.
In the text, hegemony is defined as a kind of domination that implies a measure of consent by those at the bottom. It also states that force is not needed to obtain this power but a steady persistence instead. In the beginning of Montejo’s story he is enslaved but runs away to the woods because he had a wild spirit, one that rejected entrapment. While he had a spirit that hungered freedom, many didn’t and remained subjected to the lives they’d become accustomed to living as slaves. After the abolition of slavery, slaves were freed and able to look for work. Most of the work many returned to was the work they had recently left in the cane fields and bateys. They got paid for their labor and were no longer violently punished by overseers, however, many fell back into the mindset of only ever being a slave. Although there were slight