Celia Sanchez

Sound Bite

Celia Sanchez was the dynamo behind the Cuban Revolution; this book is a historical first, illustrating her leading role in bringing down Batista and her relations with Fidel Castro.

About the Book

Fidel Castro was powerless, in prison, when the Cuban Revolution was launched  by a tiny woman named Celia Sanchez. A fearless and brilliant organizer and recruiter, she created, nurtured, and led the insurgency that ousted the U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista, the Mafia, the Communist Party of Cuba, and the U.S. capitalists from Cuba in 1959. Castro's first two thrusts against Batista were dismal failures — the attack on the powerful Moncada Army Barracks on July 26, 1953, when everyone in his terribly outmanned and outgunned little force was either killed or captured and imprisoned; and, after two years of imprisonment, his return from Mexico on a leaky yacht in December of 1956, when 70 of his 81 rebels were quickly ambushed and killed by a Batista army as they scrambled ashore at Playa Colorado. The twelve survivors — including the Castro brothers Fidel and Raul, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, and Juan Almeida — were saved by and joined up with Celia's already viable guerrilla movement in the foothills of the Sierra Maestra Mountains of eastern Cuba. Only then did they begin to make a dent in the supposedly impregnable Batista arsenal. From their first meeting in the Sierras till victory was theirs in the first week of January, 1959, Castro never forgot whose revolution it was — Celia's. And from January of 1959 till she died of cancer in January of 1980, he never forgot whose Cuba it was — Celia's. And it still is, as Castro has ruled the beleaguered island even since 1980 only in the manner he perceives Celia would want him to rule it. Castro turned 80 on August 13, 2006, in his 47th year as Cuba's leader. The transition to post-Castro Cuba looms vividly on the horizon, whether it comes as a result of natural causes or with an "assist" by the Batistiano-influenced U.S. government. This highly personal account gives insights into the U.S.-Cuban relationship and the motivations of Cuba's leaders at a historical juncture. Cuban historian Eusebio Leal called Celia a sweet and friendly woman with strong determination and character, intelligence, and willingness to give firm assistance. Yet little has been written about Celia Sanchez. She is mentioned in Georgie Anne GeyerÂ’s Guerrilla Prince and other works that focus on Fidel Castro, and she is tantalizingly introduced in websites for Cuba buffs and pro- and anti-Castro factions — all forums for readers who want to know more about her.

Introduction

Celia S¡nchez Manduley was born on May 9, 1920, in the sleepy Cuban town of Media Luna. Her character was most shaped by her love for Cuba and by two special people Ã??' her father and little Mar­a Ochoa. Celia virtually worshipped her father, Dr. Manuel S¡nchez. He was head of the Cuban Medical Association Ã??' until he was ousted as a dissident. A wealthy man, he owned three farms. Celia came to sympathize with the farmhands and other rural folk, and she often assisted her father in caring for them. CeliaÃ??'s mother, Acacia Manduley, died in 1926 of a tropical fever relating to childbirth; her sister soon moved in with the family to help raise the nine children and look after the home, a nine-room house. University-educated as a biologist and then trained at home as a nurse, Celia was profoundly attached to the country people and the country landscape, the Ã??'soothing and beautiful tones that flowed inside me like a tropical breeze from my little hometown of Media Luna,Ã??' as she told Nora Peters in a letter dated February 17, 1977. Twice, Celia was about to be married but she abruptly broke off each engagement when her suitors insisted she move to big cities Ã??' Havana, in one case, Miami in the other. A genteel doctorÃ??'s daughter, she was in her early thirties when the crimes condoned by the Batista regime in 1953 revolted her and transformed her into a guerrilla fighter determined to overthrow the dictatorship. In 1944, Celia assisted at the difficult birth of a peasant baby, Mar­a Ochoa. The little girl was sickly and three times the skilled Dr. S¡nchez predicted she would Ã??'not survive the nightÃ??' because of severe asthma attacks. Those nights, Celia held Mar­a in her arms, not wanting her Ã??'to die alone in a crib.Ã??' Each time, the baby simply refused to die, Ã??'blinking her brown eyes up at me each time it seemed nature tried to take her last breath away.Ã??' By age five, Mar­a had outgrown her breathing problems and had become, as Celia told Nora, Ã??'the sweetest and most beautiful thing in beautiful Cuba.Ã??' Mar­a spent many of her days and nights with Celia until, at age ten, in 1953, she was kidnappedÃ??'¦.