Cuba information - Famous Cubans

 

 

Famous Cubans - Fidel Castro

 

 

Fidel Castro was born on 13 August 1926. After finishing the catholic high school he took his degree in law at University of Havana.

He was member of the social-democratic Orthodox Party that denounced the government of Fulgencio Batista.

On 26 July 1953 Fidel Castro led attack against Moncada barrack. The attack failed and most of the rebels were captured or killed. Castro was captured too and this was followed by a trial where he addressed his speech that started with the famous sentence: 'History will absolve me...’ He was sentenced to prison for 15 years but he was released after 2 years.

He fled to Mexico where he collected and trained the participants of the 26 July operations. Before he took off on board of Granma in 1956 he also gained the support of Che Guevara and many others.

Returning to Cuba the revolutionists hid in Sierra Maestra Mountain and gained the support of peasants. Finally on 1 January 1959 Batista had to flee and after the victorious revolution Castro took over power.

Many Cubans left the country when it came to the light that the revolution was a Marxist one. Because of the economical disagrees between the USA and Cuba Fidel Castro nationalized all American properties.

Government of the United States tried to assassinate Fidel Castro several times and to isolate Cuba economically. CIA also tried to occupy the country with an operation in the Bay of Pigs but Cubans broke down the attack so America couldn’t take power from Castro. In reply of this, Cuba established an alliance with the Soviet Union. Soviets bought many sugar from Cuba and helped the country with economical and military assistance. From this money Castro was able to finance his social programmes such as battle against lack of education or free medical service. Unfortunately this alliance with the Soviets led to more conflicts between the USA and the Caribbean country.

Castro also assisted in revolutions of other countries such as Angola and Ethiopia. He was elected to the leader of The Movement of the Non-aligned Countries, he criticized the American imperialism. 

After the disestablishment of the Soviet Union, Cuba was treed and Castro had less importance in the international political life but he kept power till 2006. This time he temporarily turned power to his brother, Raul Castro. In 2008 it became clear that because of his indisposition he couldn’t complete his task in leading the country so he retired. His brother took over power officially too.

 

Famous Cubans - Raul Castro

 

 

Raul Castro, younger brother of Fidel Castro, is the current President of Cuba. Before the retirement of his brother, in 2006, he was one of the most important leaders of the country and also active participant of the Cuban revolution.

After finishing his studies he joined the Young Socialists, that was an organization of the Cuban Communist Party. Together with his brother they took part in (sometimes violent) student movements.

In 1953 he took part in the attack against Moncada barrack and was sentenced to prison for 22 months. During his stay in Mexico helped the preparation of the first journey of Granma and training of M-26-7 corps. Raul Castro, together with his friend, Che Guevara was one of the leaders of the rebellious troops. He led the guerrillas in North Oriente and allied the anti-Batista forces. He established a medical unit, civil work teams, air base and bomb factory.

In 1958 he set off the second line to Sierra Cristal Mountain. He set up his general headquarters in Mayari Arriba. His actions against troops of Batista in the mountains were successful.

When Fidel Castro left to occupy Havana, he stayed in Oriente to control the government. Later he became commander in chief of the rebellious army.

Raul travelled many times to Prague and Moscow to ask weapons from the Soviets. The Soviet Union supported Cuba with modern weapons like tanks, MIG planes, rocket-ranges and other equipments.

His brother governed between 1959 and 2006, when due to Fidel’s indisposition Raul took over power temporarily, then in 2008 he retired. Younger Castro brother, Raul became president of Cuba on 24 February 2008.

During his presidency he did several economical reforms: in March, 2008 he lifted the ban on buying products forbidden by Fidel earlier (DVD player, PC, microwave oven). To give a boost to the food industry he ordered to give unused state-owned estates to farmers and many fields of decision making was divided from state level to the provinces. In the middle of 2008 government overhauled the salary system at every state-owned company and now those who work more and better can get better salary. Ban on cell phone usage was also lifted.

In spring, 2009 Raul Castro dismissed some members of the government and he is constantly reforming the administration.

In his private life Raul Castro was married since 1959 with Vilma Espin Guillois, daughter of a rum factory owner and president of the Alliance of Cuban Women. They have one son and three daughters. One of them, Mariela is now director of Cuban National Center for Sex Education in Havana and activist for LGBT (referring collectively to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people) rights. Vilma Espin died in June 2007.

 

Famous Cubans - Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (CHE)

 

 

Ernesto Guevara de la Serna was born on 14 June 1928 in Argentina. He learned medicine at University of Buenos Aires. There he turned against the Argentinean leader, Juan Peron. Later he travelled to Guatemala and in 1953 he joined the government of Jacabo Arbenz Guzman. Power was took over from him later by a coup supported by the CIA.

Being an intellectual and idealist, who could talk clear about Aristotle, Kant, Marx, Gide or Faulkner, he loved poetry and felt himself at home in the world of Keats or Sara De Ibáñez, who was his favourite writer. 

As it is said, CHE played an important role in that Fidel Castro became a communist. He often quoted him the writings of Marx, Engels or Mao Ce-Tung.

He suffered from asthma in his whole life. This disease would had kept away many people from guerrilla wars but he didn’t let his sickness to incapacitate him in the battle for a fair society. Maybe this circumstance played a role in that as a doctor he specialized to allergic diseases.

While he was living in Mexico he worked at the department for allergic patients in the State Hospital. He completed his salary as a photographer. That time he met Raul Castro who talked to him about the situation in Cuba. At the beginning of July in 1954 Guevara met Fidel and joined the Cuban revolution after a night of talking.

Che was the official doctor of the rebellious troop and also an important leader. Before leaving to Cuba on board of Granma, he told his wife, Hilda Gadea, that he had joined the fight because it was part of the war against Yankee imperialism and it could be the first step of liberating the continent.

After the Granma arrived, most of the 82 men on board were captured or killed. Only 16 of them rescued. In Sierra Maestra Mountain they were helped by peasants, until their army grew enough big to be able to took over power from Batista.

In January 1959 his troops and troops of Camilio Cienfuegos raided on Havana together. Che was very popular among Cubans that time. Stories of his braveness and perfect leading abilities were far-famed. He was considered to be one of the most important figures of the revolution.

After the revolution he held several important positions in the Cuban government (he was head of the Industrial Ministry between 1961 and 1965).

Che Guevara he went to fight to Bolivia in 1966, but the Bolivian army captured him. He was executed on 9 October 1967.

 

Famous Cubans - Jose Marti

 

 

Don Jose Julian Marti y Perez was born in Havana in 1853. During the 10-year war he was sentenced to prison as a teenager because of supporting the revolution. After his release he went to Spain and took his degree in law and philosophy before returning to Cuba.

He was exiled because of supporting the Cuban independence. He travelled to Paris and Venezuela, then settled down in New York in 1881. There he worked as a writer and teacher.

Jose Marti was one of the biggest writers of the Hispanic world.  He wrote poems, tales, plays, articles and glosses.

In 1892 he totally committed himself to the planning and organization of the third Cuban war of independence. Besides he gained the support of the veterans of the 10-year war, he established the Cuban Revolutionary Party that provided a fund supporting the war. He also established a Cuban government that would had taken the power after winning the war.

In 1894 he started immediate actions in the interest of the revolution. According to historians he was in a hurry because he was afraid that the imperialist Americans would occupy the island before they liberate it from Spanish domination. 

Jose Marti died at the battle field soon after the beginning of the war. He is considered to be ‘Father of the Revolution’ in Cuba.

 

Famous Cubans - Nicolas Guillen

 

 

Nicolas Cristobal Guillen (1902 - 1989) was an Afro - Cuban journalist, political activist and writer. Mostly he is mentioned as national poet of Cuba.

Guillen was born in Camaguey and learned law at University of Havana. He gave up his career in law and worked as typographer and journalist.

Pieces of his poetry were published in several magazines from the early 1920’s. His first volume was published in 1930. His first tome with political conclusions was the West Indies Ltd. in 1934. Cuban dictatorial Machado regime was overthrown in 1933 but the political oppression were getting stronger in the following years. Nicolas Guillen and the other editor of the Medio dia were arrested and convicted by trumped-up charges in 1936. In 1937 he joined the Communist Party and took part in the Congress of Writers and Artists in Spain. While travelling in Spain he reported from the Spanish civil war as a correspondent.

After returning to Cuba he attended the elections of 1940 as a communist, because of this he was refused to get American visa.  He spent the next 20 years with travelling in South - Africa, China and Europe. In his poetry the over-cultural Marxist theories became more and more important, the government of Batista prohibited him to return in 1953. After the victory of the revolution he was warmly welcomed by Fidel Castro. In 1961 he was elected to the president of the National Association of Cuban Writers. His poems about social conditions were poignant - he was honoured with the Lenin Prize for Piece in 1954.  

Guillen is the best-known representative of ‘black poetry’, that tried to unite the black and white cultures.

His most important works are: Motivos de Son; Songoro Cosongo; West Indies, Ltd.; Cantos para soldados, La paloma de vuelo popular: Elegias.

Nicolas Guillen died at the age of 87 in 1989 and were buried in Havana, in San Cristobal de Colon cemetery.

 

Famous Cubans - Camilo Cienfuegos

 

 

Camilo Cienfuegos was born as child of Spanish rebels and became a significant person of the Cuban revolution. He took part in the attack against Moncada barrack on side of Fidel and Raul Castro and Che Guevara and was fighting on their side until his death.

In 1958 army of Batista tried to attack the rebellion troops but they resisted, so the attack failed. Troops of the rebels were led by Che Guevara and Cienfuegos. They entered Camaguey with their troops and dealt the enemy a heavy blow at Las Villas. When Fidel Castro ordered them to occupy Havana, Cienfuegos marched in the Columbia camp with his troop and attacked the Presidential Palace on 13 May. 

He wrote the next rows during the march: ‘Forty days of marching, we were often only led by the coastline and the compass…We marched 15 days in mud that reached up to the knee, mostly in the night to keep out of the hiding troops way. During the 31-day-long marching across Camaguey we ate eleven times, once after 4 days of hunger we ate a mare. Nearly all of our animals were lost in the marshland.’

Camilo Cienfuegos was very popular at that time among Cubans - he was nearly as popular as Fidel Castro. But there was a difference: Cienfuegos wasn’t communist.

In 1959 his plane disappeared mysteriously above the sea. Research started immediately but he was never found.

 

Famous Cubans - Maximo Gomez

 

 

Maximo Gomez y Baez was born in 1836 in the Dominican Republic. He was one of the commanders-in-chief of the 10-year war, then during the war of independence he became the commander-in-chief of the Cuban army.

He was trained at Zaragoza Military University as an officer of the Spanish army and he arrived to Cuba as a cavalry-man. He fought in the Spanish army during the Dominican annexation. After the Spanish troops sustained a defeat and fled the island of Dominica, Gomez moved to Cuba with his family.

He stepped out from the Spanish armada and joined the rebels in 1868. He helped the Cuban army to develop the military strategy and taught them the most fearful tactics, the machete assault.

In 1871 he fought a bloody but successful battle to liberate Guantanamo. Most of his officers held high position after this battle. He fought together with Antonio and Jose Maceo and Adolfo Flor Crombet.

After Ignacio Agramonte died, he became head of Camaguey province’s military district and the famous cavalry.

Maximo Gomez became commander-in-chief of the Cuban army. He copied and developed guerrilla tactics of Spanish army (they used these against troops of Napoleon). 

In 1875 while he was leading an unsuccessful attack to occupy western part of Cuba he was shot on his neck. After that he always wore a scarf to cover the hole. He suffered his second and last injury in 1896 in the fight for the suburbs of Havana and finishing the invasion of Western Cuba. During 15 years, spent in guerrilla wars he only injured twice. Not like his confidant, Antonio Maceo who was shot 24 times during the same period.

In March 1898 Cuba’s chief of police, Ramon Blanco y Erenas asked Gomez to join the Spanish teams in the war against America. He alluded to the common heritage of Cubans and Spaniards and offered independence if Cubans help against Americans. Gomez refused his plan.

After the Cuban war of independence he retired and lived in his villa outside of Havana. In 1901 he refused his presidental nomination, although he could win it without a vote against him. He never liked politics and after 40 years spent in Cuba, he still felt to be a Dominican who couldn’t be the civil leader of Cuba.

He died in his home in 1905 and was buried in San Cristobal de Colon cemetery.

 

Famous Cubans - Carlos Manuel de Cespedes

 

 

‘Father of the Nation’, Carlos Manuel de Cespedes was born on 18 April 1819. 

He was owner of a plantation in the eastern part of Cuba. He became known when freed his slaves first in the country. He also exhorted other owners to do the same and join the armed resistance against Spain - with this he unleashed the 10-year war. He announced war for the independence of Cuba in Grito de Yara (Yara’s tear).

Number of rebels taking part in the guerrilla fights increased constantly - Cespedes became their leader. He occupied Bayamo with his troops and he chose it to be his residence. When Spanish troops arrived to re-occupy the city, the rebels burned it down and moved forward. Home of Cespedes is among those few buildings that survived.

During the war, biggest success of Cespedes was that he reached, that the Americans confessed the need of a new Cuban government. Cespedes introduced a constitutional agreement on the establishment of a representative Cuban government and abolition of slavery.

Cespedes was deposed by the revolutionists in 1873 and one year later the Spanish captured him and executed him. He played an important role in publishing Cuba’s first independent newspaper, Cubano Libre.

 

Famous Cubans - Antonio Maceo

 

 

Antonio Maceo is one of the most popular figures of the Cuban history. He was mentioned after this as ‘The Bronze Titan’.

Antonio Maceo was born on 14 June 1845 in Santiago de Cuba as child of a free black Venezuelan farmer. 

Young Maceo showed interest on political issues, his parents encouraged him to did as he felt.

Weeks after that Carlos Manuel de Cespedes started revolt against Spanish in October 1868, Maceo and his brothers joined the war of independence too. 5 months later he had a leading role and after a few weeks he became lieutenant-colonel of the army. He participated in 500 battles during the 10-year war against the Spanish Empire.

Conservative leaders got frightened from his fast rising and popularity so started a campaigne of slander against him. This was supposed to be one of the reasons of loosing the war.

In 1878 he opposed to the Zanjon Agreement that closed the war and Spanish reform promises. The agreement offered amnesty for the revolutionists but didn’t abolish slavery. Although it offered freedom to all the slaves fought on either side.

When the war ended Maceo was forced to flee. He survived some attempts on his life made by the Spanish before the beginning of the second Cuban war of independence.

He established Cuban units during several years in the country and also outside of it. In 1892 Jose Marti founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party and asked Maceo to help him in the final war against the Spanish. Maceo led the liberating troop to occupy Havana during the war. This was one of the biggest heroic military actions of the century.

Just like his father and 3 brothers, Maceo died in a battle fighting for the Cuban freedom. His last combat was the battle at Punta Brava in 1896. 

He was shot 24 times during his military service that’s why the Spanish press called him ‘The lion’.

 

Famous Cubans - Ignacio Agramonte

 

 

Ignacio Agramonte y Loynaz was a Cuban revolutionist and important figure of the 10-year war (1868-1878). 

He was born in today’s Camaguey Province on 23 December 1841 as child of a rich family. He studied law in Barcelona, Madrid and Havana, finished as lawyer in June 1865. In 1868 he returned to Puerto Principe and married his lover, Amalia Simoni y Argilagos.

When the revolt against the Spanish broke out, he played a leading role in the revolution in Camaguey Province. He also participated in battles.

His wife followed him to the combats but in May 1870 she was captured and gave birth to her second child in America. The child could never meet his father.

Agramonte and Antonio Zambrana were elected to be secretaries of the government of the province in 1869. He also became minister of the Cuban Armed Congress. He signed the agreement of liberating the slaves on the island and took an active role in preparation of the first Cuban constitution.

He resigned from his position in the congress when Carlos Manuel de Cespedes became president of the country. They had significant difference of opinion and he knew that they couldn’t be able to work together. After that he was the commander-in-chief of the military forces in Camaguey and organized the best cavalry of the Cuban army. They frightened the famous Spanish armada.

In 1871 he saved the life of his commander, Manuel Sanguily was captured by the enemy.

On 11 May 1873 he was killed in the battle of Jumaguayu, he was shot on his head accidentally. His body was cremated in Camaguey by Spanish authorities, they were afraid that his troops would attack the city to get the body back.

Henry Reeve, American volunteer, who was a brigadier and cavalry leader called him ‘El Mayor’ (The Biggest), because he was the best commander-in-chief of all. On the anniversary of his death Sivio Rodriguez sang his song (El Mayor) in memoriam of the killed hero. It is still the signal of one of the local radios.

 

Famous Cubans - Tomas Estrada Palma

 

 

Tomas Estrada Palma was an important general of the 10-year war, and then he became Cuba’s first elected president.

After that Spanish troops captured him and sent him into exile, he travelled to New York, where he worked with Jose Marti.

After Marti's death, Estrada Palma became the president of the Cuban Revolutionary Party. When the revolutionists founded a party, they sent Estrada to Washington as a diplomat. He gained the support of an American banker and offered 150 million dollars to the Spanish for the island but the deal didn’t realized.

He convinced the congress of the USA to declare war on Spain claiming liberation of Cuba.

General Leonard Wood led Cuba during some years, and then elections were held. Liberal republicans, led by Jose Miguel Gomez, and national liberals with Alfredo Zayas all supported Estrada Palma. He didn’t campaign; he spent all of his time in the United States as an American citizen. On 31 December 1901 he was elected to president of Cuba. He led the country with a political attitude similar to Theodore Roosevelt’s.

American troops withdrew from Cuba after the Cuban government signed an agreement on reducing the price of American products and affiliating Platt Amendment into Cuba’s constitution. That time several American companies settled in Cuba.

Estrada Palma was re-elected in 1906 accompanied by the heavy protest of the liberals. Although liberals’ revolt was beaten down by American troops, Estrada Palma resigned from presidency, even so Roosevelt asked him to stay. A new American government was established in Cuba with presidency of Taft.

 

Famous Cubans - Ernest Miller Hemingway

 

 

Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on 21 July 1899 in Oak Park, USA as son of a wealthy middle-class family. His mother was a strict protestant and his father, whom he liked more, was a doctor. They hunted, hiked and fished a lot in the forests of Michigan and Hemingway became a nature devotee for the rest of his life.

In high school he learned very well but missed university and became a writer. He first worked at The Kansas City Star newspaper as a reporter. The six months, he spent there influenced his career much.

He applied to the First World War as soldier but he was refused because of his myopia, he then worked for the Red Cross. On his first workday he had to collect human remains after an ammunition factory had blown up near Milan. That inspired his narrative: Natural History of Dead. In July 1918 he badly wounded and couldn’t be a driver any more. He worked in hospital of Milan afterwards where he fell in love with a nurse. Their relationship was recorded in his novel: A Farewell to Arms.

In 1921 he married Elizabeth Hadley Richardson and moved to Paris. He joined the movement of Parisien modern literature and reported for Canadian Toronto Star from the Greek - Turkish revolution.  He met an American authoress, Gertrude Stein in the group of young American writers and poets. She became his mentor and she also created the label ‘Lost Generation’.

His first work (Three stories and ten poems) was published in 1923 in Paris. He moved back to Toronto in the same year, where his first son was born. His career in America started with publishing his collection of short stories: In Our Time. This was followed by The Sun Also Rises that made a hit also in Europe and in the USA.

In 1927 he divorced his first wife and married Pauline Pfeiffer. Protestant Hemingway was converted to catholic. His collection of short stories, Men Without Women was published in the same year and his second son was also born. In 1928 they moved to Key West to begin a new life. Their hapiness didn't last long as the father of the writer shot himself because of his financial and medical problems. The suicide convulsed Hemingway very much and this tragedy was adopted in his novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls. In the next year his third son was born.

He spent the 1930s with travelling and hunting in Africa. These adventures inspired some of his works. In 1937 he was a correspondent of an American newspaper in the Spanish civil war. In 1938 his only play, The Fifth Column was published.

In the Second World War he helped the American navy by questing for the German submarines at the shores of Cuba. In 1940 he divorced his wife and lost his beloved house in Key West. A few weeks later he got married again, but after 4 years of unpleasantness he divorced his third wife too. From 1944 he reported from England and participated in the landing at Normandy. He marched into Paris leading irregulars, after the war he returned to Cuba.

In 1946 he got married again, his wife wad a correspondent too. They spent most of their time on their estate Finca Vigia in Cuba.

In 1950 his novel, Across the River and into the Trees, got bad reviews. Three years later ha got the Pulitzer - prize for The Old Man and the Sea, in 1954 he received the Nobel - prize in literature for his same novel.

From 1955 he got medical treatment because of his high blood pressure and manic depression in Idaho. He also got shock therapy - this might had played a role in his suicide on 2 July 1961.

 

Famous Cubans - Fulgencio Batista

 

 

Ruben Fulgencio Batista Zalvidar, born in Banes in 1901, led the country in two, separate periods, first as a president and later as a dictator.

After the revolt, started by the officers of the Columbia barrack in 1933, Ramon Grau came into power. He got only one year until Batista enforced his resignation and became a commander-in-chief.

His influence during the next years was quite strong and he was elected to be the president of Cuba in 1940. He received 60% of the votes.

In 1944 Batista lost the elections against Ramon Grau, but he stayed calm until 1952. That time he took over power from Carlos Prio by a military coup. He became the dictator of Cuba. To ensure his victory he only permitted pre-organized elections, even if with that he despised the Cuban constitution. 

His government had a good relationship with the United States of America; big American companies enriched using resources of the Caribbean country while Cubans lived in poverty.

During Batista’s governance neither medical care nor education was provided in Cuba. Most of the people lived in very reduced circumstances while he and his friends were quiet wealthy.

Many people stood up against Batista, for example Fidel Castro and his organization, the M-26-7. They were trained in Mexico until 1956, the year in they returned to Cuba on board of Granma. Strict police and spy network of Batista kept Fidel Castro under control, non the less a few years earlier Batista gave him amnesty and released him from prison.

His well-equipped army of 40.000 wasn’t enough to beat the revolution. Fulgencio Batista fled from Cuba on 31 December 1958 with millions of dollars in his pocket. He lived in Spain until his death in 1973.

 

 

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