'I've wanted to do this for years,' I said. 'It won't be my hip that stops me. The problem is more likely to be my weight and the heat. I know you're only thinking of me, but I'm going.'
Ainsley and the family weren't expecting me to be dressed in my pink pyjamas though. 'Is she planning to sleep up there?' was a comment relayed to me afterwards. No! my other trousers- a pair of see-through chiffon baggy pants, I'd tripped over on the last walk weren't going to be tough enough and my jeans were likely to chafe; my pyjamas are made of soft cotton-tough enough to withstand any falls or rough bits, absorbent enough for the heat. Respectable mama to troublesome teenager to eccentric old dear in 12 days,not bad, eh?
Our guide on the last walk had been called Janet. I've never heard the name given to a boy before. This time our guide had the good looks of a Mayan Indian and the patience of Job as we (okay, I) plied him with questions. He'd been warned by Ainsley that it was the women's history I was particularly interested in.
Celia Sanchez was at the heart of the Cuban revolution for over two decades and after meeting Fidel Castro in 1957, she became his indispensable aide working with him until her death at the age of 60. She was the architect and logistician. It was the clandestine network of peasant families organised by Sanchez that was critical to the rebels' survival. She had oversight of food, clothes and arms-everything needed to sustain the rebel forces in their guerrilla war. She also went into battle showing great leadership and bravery. Later she organised a national archive of the revolution.
See the BBC News Magazine of the 11 December 2011 for more about her in an article by
Linda Pressly: 'Celia Sanchez- Was she Castro's lover?'
Below is an article about other women, known as 'The Marianas' who made up the platoon of 13 who fought in hand to hand combat. But even better than hearing about their story from the Guide and gazing at their photos in the museum at la Plata, was later actually meeting one of these women in the flesh at the Moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba. We didn't catch her name. We think she must have been in her late 60's. She stood in front of us looking down humbly and quietly shaking as if she might have Parkinson's, and Ainsley introduced her and briefly told us her story. By coincidence on that same day and time we were visiting the barracks museum, she had brought in for the archives her uniform, her medal, a piece of camouflage rebel parachute, and her photograph at 16 when she volunteered to fight the battle against illiteracy in the area and had signed up with the rebel army.
She shook the hand of every member of the family. I asked her if she'd written her story. She shook her head. I hope the museum makes sure they get her individual story in the archives that Celia Sanchez set up. These women are living heroes but they won't be around for much longer. The stories of macho men living in the mountains and fighting in the jungle for a cause are the romantic stuff that captivates tourists. Their stories are inspirational but for me the bravery of the women who fought is even more so. I think it is for other women and will be for generations of young women to come.
As we left the barracks, it wasn't only the women who were moved by the experience of meeting a real live female hero.
Vol. 75/No. 29 August 8, 2011
Role of women’s platoon
in Cuba’s revolutionary war (Books of the Month column)
What led to the unit’s formation?
PUEBLA: In May 1958, as the dictatorship’s military offensive began, the army stepped up its repression against the population of the Sierra Maestra… .
After the army’s offensive had been defeated, we asked our commander in chief to allow us to fight arms in hand. He agreed. Fidel said yes, women had won the right to fight with a rifle face to face with the enemy.
On September 4, 1958, a meeting took place, a sort of roundtable. Fidel assembled his general staff at the time, those who were left in the Sierra Maestra… . There was a discussion at this roundtable meeting that lasted more than seven hours. Fidel had a very big argument there. There were still not enough weapons for everyone, and the men were saying, “How can we give rifles to women when there are so many men who are unarmed?”
Fidel answered: “Because they’re better soldiers than you are. They’re more disciplined.”
“In any event,” he said, “I’m going to put together the squad, and I’m going to teach them how to shoot.”
So on September 4, the Mariana Grajales Women’s Platoon was formed. As I explained, Isabel Rielo became the commanding officer. I was named second in command. The squad came to have thirteen combatants in it. The commander in chief chose the name as a tribute to Mariana Grajales, a heroine of our war of independence and the mother of Antonio Maceo, the legendary general who fought heroically in Cuba’s wars of independence for over thirty years.
Fidel was the one who taught us to shoot. We had to hit a quarter—or a 20-centavo coin—20 to 30 meters away, depending on how he wanted to test our aim. And he drilled us. We had to split that coin… .
Then Fidel informed us: “You’re now going to be my personal security detail.”
From that day on, when people saw us, they would comment: “The Marianas are here. Our commander in chief must be arriving.” We were his advance detachment. He did this to demonstrate his confidence in women, in women’s equality… .
The first combat we saw was the battle of Cerro Pelado on September 27, 1958. This was the Marianas’ baptism by fire. The entire squad participated.
This was a tough battle. Remember that the enemy had artillery. The area had become the last redoubt of the dictatorship’s troops who had fled the territory after our counteroffensive had begun. We had to fight to get them out of the Sierra Maestra. Five compañeros were killed in the fighting; there were no casualties among the Marianas. Fidel has talked about this battle.
Afterward, Fidel went up to Eddy Suñol, one of the officers who was most opposed to having us as combatants, and he said: “I have a mission for you. We want to send you down to the plains, but you’re going to take the girls with you.”
Right then and there Commander Suñol said no. “I’m not going to the cities with them.”
Frankly, he was forced to take us. Fidel told him: “Either you take the women or you’re not going.” Suñol took us, although he did so gritting his teeth.
We arrived in Holguín on the night of October 20. The first battle began at dawn on the 21st, near the Holguín reservoir, where we were surprised by two trucks and a jeep full of the dictatorship’s soldiers.
We were surrounded with no way out, because the soldiers were less than ten minutes away from us. We agreed among ourselves that we would never surrender. We’d die fighting.
WATERS: The army troops must have been surprised to see you.
PUEBLA: Yes, because they had never before seen women in combat.
Back at the command post, when the report on the battle was made, the question was asked: “How did the women conduct themselves? What was their stance?” After that battle, the issue was settled. Women could fight alongside the men. Radio Rebelde was reporting it. We suffered two wounded and captured eleven rifles.
MADRID: What about Eddy Suñol?
PUEBLA: Suñol sent a message to Fidel apologizing for having opposed him on this question and acknowledging that Fidel was right. Because that battle had demonstrated that what Fidel had been saying about women was correct. They are as good soldiers as the men.
Related articles:
Miami protest hits bill to further curb Cuba travel
Cuban Revolution sets the example
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home
Role of women’s platoon
in Cuba’s revolutionary war (Books of the Month column)
Below is an excerpt from Marianas in Combat: Teté Puebla and the Mariana Grajales Women’s Platoon in Cuba’s Revolutionary War, 1956-58. The Spanish edition is one of Pathfinder’s Books of the Month for August. Puebla, a brigadier general in Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces, joined the struggle to overthrow the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1956 when she was 15 years old. She served in the Rebel Army’s first all-women’s platoon and was a founding member of the Federation of Cuban Women. The interview was conducted by Mary-Alice Waters, president of Pathfinder Press, and Luis Madrid. Copyright © 2003 by Pathfinder Press. Reprinted by permission.
WATERS: The founding of the Mariana Grajales Women’s Platoon marked a milestone in the Cuban Revolution. It demonstrated in practice the social course a victorious Rebel Army would fight for. As Karl Marx put it, you can judge any society by the status of women.What led to the unit’s formation?
PUEBLA: In May 1958, as the dictatorship’s military offensive began, the army stepped up its repression against the population of the Sierra Maestra… .
After the army’s offensive had been defeated, we asked our commander in chief to allow us to fight arms in hand. He agreed. Fidel said yes, women had won the right to fight with a rifle face to face with the enemy.
On September 4, 1958, a meeting took place, a sort of roundtable. Fidel assembled his general staff at the time, those who were left in the Sierra Maestra… . There was a discussion at this roundtable meeting that lasted more than seven hours. Fidel had a very big argument there. There were still not enough weapons for everyone, and the men were saying, “How can we give rifles to women when there are so many men who are unarmed?”
Fidel answered: “Because they’re better soldiers than you are. They’re more disciplined.”
“In any event,” he said, “I’m going to put together the squad, and I’m going to teach them how to shoot.”
So on September 4, the Mariana Grajales Women’s Platoon was formed. As I explained, Isabel Rielo became the commanding officer. I was named second in command. The squad came to have thirteen combatants in it. The commander in chief chose the name as a tribute to Mariana Grajales, a heroine of our war of independence and the mother of Antonio Maceo, the legendary general who fought heroically in Cuba’s wars of independence for over thirty years.
Fidel was the one who taught us to shoot. We had to hit a quarter—or a 20-centavo coin—20 to 30 meters away, depending on how he wanted to test our aim. And he drilled us. We had to split that coin… .
Then Fidel informed us: “You’re now going to be my personal security detail.”
From that day on, when people saw us, they would comment: “The Marianas are here. Our commander in chief must be arriving.” We were his advance detachment. He did this to demonstrate his confidence in women, in women’s equality… .
The first combat we saw was the battle of Cerro Pelado on September 27, 1958. This was the Marianas’ baptism by fire. The entire squad participated.
This was a tough battle. Remember that the enemy had artillery. The area had become the last redoubt of the dictatorship’s troops who had fled the territory after our counteroffensive had begun. We had to fight to get them out of the Sierra Maestra. Five compañeros were killed in the fighting; there were no casualties among the Marianas. Fidel has talked about this battle.
Afterward, Fidel went up to Eddy Suñol, one of the officers who was most opposed to having us as combatants, and he said: “I have a mission for you. We want to send you down to the plains, but you’re going to take the girls with you.”
Right then and there Commander Suñol said no. “I’m not going to the cities with them.”
Frankly, he was forced to take us. Fidel told him: “Either you take the women or you’re not going.” Suñol took us, although he did so gritting his teeth.
We arrived in Holguín on the night of October 20. The first battle began at dawn on the 21st, near the Holguín reservoir, where we were surprised by two trucks and a jeep full of the dictatorship’s soldiers.
We were surrounded with no way out, because the soldiers were less than ten minutes away from us. We agreed among ourselves that we would never surrender. We’d die fighting.
WATERS: The army troops must have been surprised to see you.
PUEBLA: Yes, because they had never before seen women in combat.
Back at the command post, when the report on the battle was made, the question was asked: “How did the women conduct themselves? What was their stance?” After that battle, the issue was settled. Women could fight alongside the men. Radio Rebelde was reporting it. We suffered two wounded and captured eleven rifles.
MADRID: What about Eddy Suñol?
PUEBLA: Suñol sent a message to Fidel apologizing for having opposed him on this question and acknowledging that Fidel was right. Because that battle had demonstrated that what Fidel had been saying about women was correct. They are as good soldiers as the men.
I have to tell you that after having been one of the main opponents of women’s integration, I’m now completely satisfied. I congratulate you once again because you are never wrong. Beforehand I believed that this time you were mistaken. I wish you could see—even if it were a movie, so you could smile with joy—the actions of Teté in particular, as well as the other compañeras. When the order was given to advance, some of the men stayed behind, but the women went ahead in the vanguard. Their courage and calmness merits the respect and admiration of all the rebels and everyone else. EDDY SUÑOL Letter to Fidel Castro, October 1958 |
Related articles:
Miami protest hits bill to further curb Cuba travel
Cuban Revolution sets the example
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