One of the most relevant events against the evils of the neocolonial Republic was the Protesta de los Trece (Protest of the Thirteen), where a group of young people participated, headed by the young Rubén Martínez Villena. The protest was provoked by the purchase of the Convent of Santa Clara, a scandalous business approved by the government of Alfredo Zayas.
On March 18, 1923, an act would be held at the Academy of Sciences of Havana, where the Minister of Government, who had signed the purchase of the convent, would take the floor. Rubén Martínez Villena decided to publicly protest that fraudulent business and invited other young people to participate in the event. When the minister was preparing to begin his speech, Rubén blamed him for his complicity in that business. Then the young people left the room, which surprised the audience.
With the name of Protesta contra Regueiferos, the newspaper El Heraldo, published the Manifiesto de los Trece, preceded by an introduction written by the signatories themselves, where they expressed feeling "honored and satisfied for having initiated a reaction against those rulers." The protagonists, accused of insulting the government, had to pay a bond of 1000 pesos each. According to Juan Marinello, one of its participants, "since then, writers and artists have felt the responsibility of their political position, they have honored or betrayed it, but they have not been able to elude it".
This fact led Rubén to assume his own defense. During the first night that Villena was imprisoned, the pain was translated into poetic fertility and took shape in his Lyric-Civil Message.
