Dominican by birth and son of Cuban , Enrique Loynaz del Castillo was born on June 5, 1871, he was a friend and assistant of José Martí and field support of General Antonio Maceo, with whom he conspired in the emigration to Costa Rica and saved his life in the attempt on his life on November 10, 1894, at the exit of a theater in the city of San José.
Loynaz del Castillo was included in the organization of the Fernandina Plan and joined the Liberation Army in July 1895 as a member of the expedition of the steamship James Woodall, which disembarked at Tayabacoa, on the southern coast of Las Villas, under the command of Major General Carlos Roloff, and was assigned the command of the General Staff of General Serafín Sánchez, with whom he participated in the actions of Taguasco and Los Pasitos.
Enrique Loynaz del Castillo was one of the representatives of Camagüey in the Constituent Assembly of Jimaguayú, where he drafted the declaration of independence contained in the Constitution approved there; then he joined the invading column as field support to Antonio Maceo, in the advance of this force to the west of the country he composed the lyrics and music of the Invading Hymn.
During the necessary war he took part in more than 60 military actions, including, among others, the combats of La Reforma, Boca del Toro and El Quirro, and the battles of Mal Tiempo, Santa Isabel, La Colmena, Coliseo, La Entrada, Calimete and El Estante; he concluded the war with the rank of Brigadier General of the Liberator Army, and in December 1899, the Dominican government conferred him the rank of General of the Army.
During the neocolonial period, he served as representative to the House of Representatives for Camagüey, and was also Cuban ambassador to Mexico, Portugal, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Panama and Venezuela.
Enrique Loynaz del Castillo died in Havana 1963, when he was 92 years old of a prestigious life, dedicated to the freedom of his homeland.
