Diary of a Combatant

  PAÍS GARCÍA, JOSUÉ: Born in Santiago de Cuba on December 28, 1937. He was Frank País’s brother and an active participant in mass protests and student demonstrations as a member of the ANA and the Martí Student Bloc. He was a captain in the underground militia of the July 26 Movement in Santiago de Cuba and participated in the November 30 uprising. He was assassinated on June 30, 1957, in his hometown of Martí y Crombet.

  PARDO GUERRA, BENJAMÍN (MINGOLO): Born on August 3, 1932, in El Cobre, Santiago de Cuba. He joined the Rebel Army in El Hombrito, as part of Column Four. He later fought on the Third Front under his brother Israel Pardo. He died in combat in Dos Palmas on January 4, 1958.

  PARDO GUERRA, ISRAEL: A member of Columns One and Four of the Rebel Army, he later joined Column Three on the Third Front. He became a member of the FAR.

  PARDO GUERRA, JOEL: A combatant in the Rebel Army and a member of Column Eight.

  PARDO GUERRA, RAMÓN (GUILE) (b. 1939): Combatant in the Rebel Army from 1957. He was a member of Column Four and later joined Che’s Column Eight. Today he is a division general in the FAR.

  PARDO GUERRA, SAMUEL: A member of Column One of the Rebel Army, he later joined Column Three on the Third Front.

  PAZ BORROTO, RAMÓN: Born in Morón, Ciego de Ávila, on August 31, 1924. He was a member of the July 26 Movement and joined the Rebel Army’s Column One and later Column Eight. He died in the battle of Providencia during the second battle of Santo Domingo, July 28, 1958.

  PAZOS BEHAR, JAVIER: Son of Felipe Pazos Roque. He was a member of the July 26 Movement and went to the Sierra Maestra on July 6, 1957, together with the doctor Julio Martínez Páez. He was captured on January 11, 1958, along with Armando Hart Dávalos and Antonio Buch, and interned in Boniato prison. He went into exile in September 1960.

  PAZOS ROQUE, FELIPE (b. 1912): Economist and former head of Cuba’s National Bank under the Prío administration. He was a member of the Cuban Liberation Council (Junta de Liberación) in the United States and collaborated with the July 26 Movement, signing the Sierra Manifiesto in July 1957 and the Miami Pact in October 1958. After the revolution, he was president of the National Bank, but after he was replaced, he left for the United States in 1960.

  PENA DÍAZ, FÉLIX: Born in Santiago de Cuba on March 26, 1930. He was a member of various political parties, including the Orthodox Party, Triple A and the July 26 Movement. He participated in the November 30, 1956, uprising in Santiago de Cuba. He was a member of the first contingent sent by Frank País to the Sierra Maestra, joining Column One, and later Columns Six and 18 on the Second Front. He attained the rank of commander and died on April 14, 1959.

  PEÑA TORRES, HERMES: Combatant in the Rebel Army and member of Column Eight. He became an officer in the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) and died on an internationalist mission.

  PÉREZ, JOSÉ: He joined Che’s Column Eight, but later deserted.

  PÉREZ HERNÁNDEZ, FAUSTINO: Born in Guayos, Sancti Spíritus, on July 15, 1920. He was a doctor and member of the Revolutionary National Movement (MNR). Exiled in Mexico, he became a Granma expeditionary. He was head of action and sabotage in the July 26 Movement. After Alegría de Pío he was reunited with Fidel’s group. On December 23, 1956, he left the Sierra Maestra to conduct underground actions. He rejoined the guerrillas in June 1958 in Column One and attained the rank of commander. After the revolution he held various government positions, including vice-president of the Council of Ministers. He was a member of the central committee of the Cuban Communist Party and deputy to the National Assembly, and died in Havana on December 24, 1992.

  PÉREZ MONTANO, CRESCENCIO: Born in Pilón, Niquero, on April 19, 1895. From a young age he dedicated himself to the struggles of peasants persecuted by the Rural Guard. He was a founding member of the July 26 Movement and worked with Celia Sánchez in the preparations for the arrival of the Granma. He joined Column One and later led Column Seven in the operational zone from Caracas Peak to Cabo Cruz. He was named as a commander on March 15, 1958. He died in Havana on October 16, 1986.

  PÉREZ MONTANO, RAMÓN (MONGO): A peasant collaborator with the Rebel Army. He gave refuge to Fidel Castro and other Granma expeditionaries at his farm in Cinco Palmas after the rebels were dispersed at Alegría de Pío. He died in an accident in 1960.

  PÉREZ RIGAR, PONCIANA (LA VIEJA CHANA): Peasant woman who collaborated with the Rebel Army in the Sierra Maestra.

  PÉREZ ZAMORA, IGNACIO: Born in Niquero, Oriente province, on March 8, 1931. He was the son of Crescencio Pérez and a member of the July 26 Movement, who joined Column One. He attained the rank of captain. He died in the battle of San José del Retiro, Jiguaní, on December 19, 1958.

  PESANT GONZÁLEZ, ADALBERTO (BETO): Born in Manzanillo, Oriente province, on August 8, 1930. He was a member of the Orthodox Party and organizer of the July 26 Movement in Manzanillo. He joined Column One and attained the rank of captain. He died in an accident on Las Mercedes farm, August 8, 1959.

  PONCE DÍAZ, JOSÉ: Born in Artemisa, Havana, on April 9, 1926. He was a member of the Orthodox Party and later of the July 26 Movement. He participated in the attack on the Moncada barracks and was captured, tried and imprisoned. After the amnesty, he went into exile in Costa Rica and Mexico. He joined the Granma expedition, but after Alegría de Pío he was captured and held in prison on the Isle of Pines until the revolution.

  PUPO PEÑA, PEDRO ORLANDO: Member of the first group of combatants sent by Frank País to the Sierra Maestra (los Marabuzaleros). He was a member of Column One and later Column Six on the Second Front.

  QUESADA PÉREZ, FLORENTINO: Born in Colonia Estacadero, Niquero, Oriente province, on September 16, 1936. He joined the Rebel Army’s Column One, but died in the second battle of Pino del Agua, February 16, 1958.

  QUIROGA ESPINOSA, ANTOLÍN OLIMPO (TITO): Born in Manzanillo, Oriente province, on July 26, 1927. He was a member of the July 26 Movement and fought on the First Front. He later became captain of the rearguard squadron of Column Nine on the Third Front. He was wounded in the second battle of Pino del Agua.

  RAMOS LATOUR, RENÉ (DANIEL): Born in Antilla, Holguín, on May 12, 1932. He worked with the July 26 Movement in the northern towns of Mayarí, Cauto, Antilla and Nicaro. He went to the Sierra Maestra on March 16, 1957. He became leader of the July 26 Movement in Oriente province after the death of Frank País, and later became a national leader of the movement. After the debacle of the April 1958 strike and the Mompié meeting on May 3, 1958, he returned to the Sierra Maestra as part of Column One. He attained the rank of commander. He died in the battle of El Jobal on July 30, 1958.

  REDONDO GARCÍA, CIRO: Born in Artemisa, Havana, on December 9, 1931. A militant in the Orthodox Party Youth, he was an assailant on the Moncada barracks. Captured and imprisoned, he was amnestied on May 15, 1955. He joined the July 26 Movement and went into exile in Mexico. An expeditionary on the Granma, he became a member of the general staff of the Rebel Army and fought in Column Four. He attained the rank of captain. He died in the battle of Mar Verde on November 29, 1957. He was posthumously awarded the rank of commander.

  REYES, GERARDO (YAYO): He was a member of the July 26 Movement and part of the first group sent by Frank País to the Sierra Maestra (los Marabuzaleros). He fought in Column One and later Column Six on the Second Front. He attained the rank of captain. He died in Santiago de Cuba on July 8, 1977.

  REYES ROSALES, TEODORO: Combatant of the Rebel Army. He was a member of Column Eight, but deserted during the Las Villas campaign.

  RIVERO, CONCEPCIÓN: Collaborator with the Rebel Army in Jibacoa, Oriente province.

  RIVERO PEÑA, PEDRO: Born in Campechuela, Oriente province, on April 29, 1939. Member of Column Four. He died in the battle of Bueycito on August 1, 1957.

  RODRÍGUEZ CORDOVÍ, GEONEL: Born in Manatí, Palma Soriano, May 10, 1934. He was a member of the July 26 Movement at the University of Havana. He joined Column Four and was given command of a platoon in Column One. He participated in the battle of Santo Domingo, Ju
ne 30, 1958, and helped with the editing and printing of El Cubano Libre. He attained the rank of captain. He was hit by a mortar when he was already wounded and died in La Plata hospital, July 12, 1958.

  RODRÍGUEZ CRUZ, RENÉ (EL FLACO/“SKINNY”): Born in Cárdenas, Matanzas, May 28, 1931. He was a member of the July 26 Movement and expeditionary on the Granma. On January 28, 1957, he left the Sierra Maestra to engage in underground actions. He participated in the meeting at the farm of Epifanio Díaz in February, 1957. He was a member of Column Eight and became an officer in the FAR. He was a member of the central committee of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) and president of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP). He died in Havana on October 15, 1990.

  RODRÍGUEZ FERNÁNDEZ, ROBERTO (EL VAQUERITO/“LITTLE COWBOY”): Born in Sancti Spíritus, on June 7, 1935. Member of Columns One and Four and captain of the “Suicide Squad” of Column Eight. He died in the action that captured the police headquarters in Santa Clara on December 30, 1958.

  RODRÍGUEZ HERNÁNDEZ, HORACIO: Born in Cidra, Matanzas, on April 25, 1928. He was a member of the July 26 Movement. Exiled in Mexico, he became an expeditionary on the Granma. After the rebels were dispersed at Alegría de Pío he went underground and rejoined the Rebel Army on November 17, 1957. He was killed by Rolando Masferrer’s paramilitary forces in Manzanillo on January 2, 1959.

  RODRÍGUEZ MOYA, ARMANDO: He was a member of the July 26 Movement. Exiled in Costa Rica and Mexico, he joined the Granma expedition. He was a member of Column One but deserted after the action at Altos de Espinosa.

  RODRÍGUEZ RODRÍGUEZ, LUIS ORLANDO (1912–89): He participated in the movement against the dictator Gerardo Machado as a leader of the Authentic Party Youth. He was a founding member of the Orthodox Party and then joined the July 26 Movement. He was the director of the newspaper La Calle. He joined Column Four in 1957 and became the director of El Cubano Libre and Radio Rebelde. He undertook several missions abroad, returning to the Sierra Maestra with arms in a plane in December 1958. He was named as a commander on December 28, 1958, and became a government minister from January to October 1959. He later served for decades in the Cuban diplomatic corps. He died in Havana, January 26, 1989.

  RODRÍGUEZ DE LA VEGA, ADOLFO (CUCO): Combatant of the Rebel Army, doctor and outstanding fighter in the Las Villas campaign as a captain in Column Eight. He continued working with Che in La Cabaña after the revolution.

  RODRÍGUEZ VIAMONTE, WILLLAM: Born in Arroyo Blanco de Guisa on May 1, 1931. He was a member of the Orthodox Party and later joined the July 26 Movement. He joined Column Four on June 22, 1957. On April 15, 1958, Fidel assigned him to command the area around Guisa, including the camp at Las Peñas. He participated in the battle of Guisa and remained there until the end of the war. He attained the rank of first lieutenant and died in Havana on August 3, 1983.

  ROQUE NÚÑEZ, ROBERTO LEONARDO: Born in Palmira, Cienfuegos, on November 6, 1915. He was a member of the July 26 Movement and an expeditionary on the Granma as helmsman. After the rebels were dispersed at Alegría de Pío he was captured on December 12, 1956, and remained imprisoned until the revolution. He died in Havana on December 1, 1989.

  RUIZ BORRERO, ROBERTO: Combatant on the First Front of the Rebel Army and later a member of Column Eight.

  SABORIT RODRÍGUEZ, EVELIO (1939–75): Born in Bayamo, Oriente province, on February 22, 1939. He was a member of the July 26 Movement. In June 1957 he joined Column Four and later was a member of Column Three on the Third Front. He attained the rank of commander.

  SALVADOR MANSO, DAVID (b. 1923): Member of the July 26 Movement and leader of its workers’ section from 1957 to May 1958. At the Mompié meeting in May 1958 he was replaced by Antonio Torres (Ñico). He was general secretary of the Cuban Workers Confederation (CTC) from 1959 to 1960, when he was arrested and sentenced to 30 years in prison for counterrevolutionary activity.

  SÁNCHEZ ÁLVAREZ, UNIVERSO: Born in San José de los Ramos, Matanzas, on May 22, 1919. He was a member of the July 26 Movement and an expeditionary on the Granma. After the rebels were dispersed at Alegría de Pío he was one of the two combatants who remained with Fidel. He achieved the rank of commander on December 28, 1958.

  SÁNCHEZ MANDULEY, CELIA: Born in Media Luna on May 9, 1920. She actively supported the Moncada assailants while they were in prison and was the founder of the July 26 Movement in Manzanillo. She organized the plans for the arrival of the Granma expeditionaries and, together with Frank País, recruited the first group of reinforcements sent to the Sierra Maestra (los Marabuzaleros). From October 1957 she was a member of the general command, and after the revolution had various responsibilities in Fidel Castro’s office. She died of cancer in Havana on January 11, 1980.

  SÁNCHEZ WHITE, CALIXTO: Born in Glasgow, Scotland, February 3, 1924. He was a pilot, aviation mechanic and union leader. Having fought in World War II, he participated in the plans for the March 13, 1957, attack on the presidential palace. Exiled in Miami, he organized and led the May 1957 expedition on the Corynthia. He was assassinated in Cabonico, Holguín, on May 28, 1957.

  SANTAMARÍA CUADRADO, ALDO (1926–2008): Born in Encrucijada, Las Villas. He was imprisoned in 1956 as a leader of the July 26 Movement. After 1957 he joined the First Front of the Rebel Army and attained the rank of commander on December 28, 1958.

  SANTAMARÍA CUADRADO, HAYDÉE (YEYÉ) (1922–80): Born in Encrucijada, Las Villas, on December 27, 1922. She was a member of the Orthodox Youth and carried out propaganda work distributing the underground papers Son los Mismos and El Acusador. She participated in the Moncada attack and was a nurse after the capture of the Saturnino Lora hospital. She was captured and imprisoned. On her release, she assisted the publication and distribution of Fidel’s courtroom defence speech, “History will absolve me.” She became a leader of the July 26 Movement and participated in the uprising of November 30, 1956. She joined Column One on the First Front, but was later assigned to work among Cuban exiles overseas. After the revolution, she was the founder and director of the cultural organization Casa de las Américas.

  SARDIÑAS LABRADA, EDUARDO (LALO) (b. 1929): Born in Veguitas, Bayamo, Oriente province. He joined Column Four and later was the leader of Column 12 of the Fourth Front. He attained the rank of commander.

  SARDIÑAS MENÉNDEZ, GUILLERMO (1916–64): Born in Sagua la Grande, Las Villas, on May 6, 1916. He was a Catholic priest and lawyer who joined the Rebel Army as a chaplain. He attained the rank of commander.

  SILVA BERREA, JOSÉ RAMÓN: Member of Column Eight of the Rebel Army. He attained the rank of captain and later commander.

  SIS NARANJO, TEODORO (PELENCHO): Peasant from Sierra Maestra, who lived next to Column Four’s base at La Mesa. He later became a courier for the Rebel Army.

  SORÍ MARÍN, HUMBERTO (1935–61): A member of the Rebel Army’s Column One who became a commander on December 28, 1958. After the revolution he was minister of agriculture but then joined a counterrevolutionary group. He was captured and executed in 1961.

  SOTO CUESTA, JUAN JORGE (1935–57): Born in Banes, Holguín. He was a member of the July 26 Movement and part of the first contingent of combatants sent by Frank País to the Sierra Maestra (los Marabuzaleros). He joined Column One and was a captain at the time he died in combat on November 20, 1957. He was posthumously awarded the rank of commander.

  SOTO HERNÁNDEZ, FRANCISCO (EL POLICÍA): Born in Morón, Ciego de Ávila, on March 17, 1921. A former member of the National Police, he was discharged under Batista. He became a member of the July 26 Movement in Banes and was part of the first contingent of reinforcements sent to the Sierra Maestra (los Marabuzaleros). He died in the battle of El Uvero on May 28, 1957.

  SOTOLONGO PÉREZ, ESTEBAN: Born in Placetas, Las Villas, on August 3, 1928. He was a member of the July 26 Movement. Exiled to Mexico in June 1956, he was an expeditionary on the Granma. After Alegría de Pío he rejoined the rebels on February 19, 1957. Due to ill health, from early May 1957 he worked in the underground moveme
nt until the revolution.

  SOTOMAYOR ARCÍS, IBRAHIM: A peasant who helped the expeditionaries from the Granma.

  SOTTO ALBA, PEDRO (PEDRÍN): Born in Bayamo, Oriente province, on December 27, 1935. He was a member of the July 26 Movement and an expeditionary on the Granma. After the rebels were dispersed at Alegría de Pío, he hid until he was able to join the Rebel Army with Frank País’s first contingent of reinforcements (los Marabuzaleros). He was a member of Column One and later Columns Six and 19 on the Second Front. He died in the battle of Minas de Moa on June 26, 1958, and was posthumously awarded the rank of commander.

  SOTÚS ROMERO, JORGE: He led the first contingent of combatants (los Marabuzaleros) sent to the Sierra Maestra by Frank País in March 1957. After 1959 he was imprisoned for counterrevolutionary activities. He died in Miami.

  SUÁREZ LÓPEZ, JOSÉ A. (PEPE) (b. 1927): He participated in the attack on the Moncada barracks, and was subsequently captured and imprisoned. He was a member of the July 26 Movement in Cuba until December 1956, when he went into exile until the revolution.

  SUÁREZ MARTÍNEZ, RAÚL: Born in Rodas, Cienfuegos, on October 12, 1935. He participated in the underground student struggle and was a member of the MNR (led by García Bárcenas) and the Orthodox Party. He joined the July 26 Movement and went into exile in Mexico. He was an expeditionary on the Granma, and after Alegría de Pío he was captured and assassinated in Boca del Toro on December 8, 1956.

  SUÑOL RICARDO, EDDY: Born in Holguín on August 10, 1926. He was a member of the Orthodox Party and later of the July 26 Movement in Santiago de Cuba. He fought in Column One and later became the leader of Column 14 of the Fourth Front. He attained the rank of commander. He died in Havana on July 2, 1971.

  TAMAYO PEÑA, FÉLIX REY: Born in Jiguaní, Oriente province, on July 28, 1931. He was a member of Popular Socialist Party and later of the July 26 Movement. He fought in Column Four and attained the rank of lieutenant. He died in Havana on April 25, 1987.

  TAMAYO TAMAYO, FRANCISCO AMADO (PANCHO) (1904–60): Born in Baire, Santiago de Cuba, on July 24, 1904. He lived in El Peladero near where the Granma landed in Oriente province. He was an effective collaborator with the guerrillas during the battle of El Uvero. He attained the rank of commander. He died in a clash with counterrevolutionaries led by Manuel Beatón on April 4, 1960.