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Soldier of the Cuban Revolution: From the cane fields of Oriente to General of the Revolutionary Armed Forces
Luis Alfonso Zayas, a general in the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, recounts his experiences over five decades in the Cuban Revolution. From a teenage combatant in the clandestine struggle and 1956-58 war that brought down the US-backed dictatorship, to serving three times as a leader of the Cuban volunteer forces that helped Angola defeat an invasion by the army of white-supremacist South Africa, Zayas tells how he and other ordinary men and women in Cuba changed the course of history and, in the process, transformed themselves as well. Introduction by Mary-Alice Waters, photos, index, maps. Also available Spanish
202 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 10, 2017
An interview of almost unparalleled bias. The interviewers prompted answers that they wanted to hear. Yet Zayas recounts his experiences during the Cuban Revolution with great detail and greater objectivity than the interviewers themselves. It is mostly a work describing his general experiences and the roles that he played during the revolution as a somewhat secondary character.
April 29, 2012
Soldier of the Cuban Revolution: From the Cane Fields of Oriente to General of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, by Luis Alfonso Zayas.
It is said that history is written by the winners. Soldier of the Cuban Revolution: From the Cane Fields of Oriente to General of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, by Luis Alfonso Zayas, presents events of the Cuban revolution through the eyes of a man who was there, playing an intimate role in these momentous events.
Luis Alfonso Zayas grew up in rural Cuba during the years before the revolution of the late 1950's. His father was a colono, a farmer growing sugar cane on land he owned in Oriente province. Zayas describes in detail and with passion the hardships endured by farmers and farm laborers alike in a system dominated by the sugar mill owners, primarily US-based corporations, and enforced by the Guardia Rural. He explains the quota system that capped the amount of sugar cane that could be cut each year, effectively keeping the colono forever in debt to the mill owner. Zayas recounts life in pre-revolution rural Cuba as harsh and precarious, without adequate roads or communication systems, little health care, and very little education for the peasants. It was truly fertile ground for revolution.
The author explains how he joined the fledgling revolutionary movement, and relates how he fought with Castro's militia beginning in the mountains through their victory in 1959. Along the way, Zayas rose in rank from an untrained foot soldier to a Commander in the Revolutionary Armed Forces who later went to Angola along with nearly 375,000 other Cubans to fight against the invasion of South Africa's apartheid government. Throughout his military career, until he retired as a Brigadier General in the Revolutionary Armed Forces in 1998, he also held positions central to the country's Agriculture Ministry and to the Cuban Communist Party in one of the most underdeveloped parts of Cuba.
The book is the result of a series of interviews of Zayas conducted by Mary-Alice Waters and others, primarily in 2007 and 2009 in Havana. In the interview format, Zayas responds to questions advanced by Waters and the answers are sometimes rambling and filled with detail, such as lists of names of people and places which are likely more significant to those who know a great deal more about the locale and its history than the average reader. Fortunately, a glossary of individuals, organizations, and events is included. The book is well illustrated with black-and-white photos.
Soldier of the Cuban Revolution is one of a series of several books published by Pathfinder Press about the Cuban Revolution. In her introduction, Waters asserts the workers and farmers of Cuba accomplished the impossible: "They broke the armed might, and then the economic power, of the existing ruling class and set out to create a just world order." Whether they have fully accomplished their task is for future historians to decide; but, for now, the revolutionaries like Zayas are the winners and as such they have won the right to tell their story.
John Michael Senger
April 4, 2011
It is said that history is written by the winners. Soldier of the Cuban Revolution: From the Cane Fields of Oriente to General of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, by Luis Alfonso Zayas, presents events of the Cuban revolution through the eyes of a man who was there, playing an intimate role in these momentous events.
Luis Alfonso Zayas grew up in rural Cuba during the years before the revolution of the late 1950's. His father was a colono, a farmer growing sugar cane on land he owned in Oriente province. Zayas describes in detail and with passion the hardships endured by farmers and farm laborers alike in a system dominated by the sugar mill owners, primarily US-based corporations, and enforced by the Guardia Rural. He explains the quota system that capped the amount of sugar cane that could be cut each year, effectively keeping the colono forever in debt to the mill owner. Zayas recounts life in pre-revolution rural Cuba as harsh and precarious, without adequate roads or communication systems, little health care, and very little education for the peasants. It was truly fertile ground for revolution.
The author explains how he joined the fledgling revolutionary movement, and relates how he fought with Castro's militia beginning in the mountains through their victory in 1959. Along the way, Zayas rose in rank from an untrained foot soldier to a Commander in the Revolutionary Armed Forces who later went to Angola along with nearly 375,000 other Cubans to fight against the invasion of South Africa's apartheid government. Throughout his military career, until he retired as a Brigadier General in the Revolutionary Armed Forces in 1998, he also held positions central to the country's Agriculture Ministry and to the Cuban Communist Party in one of the most underdeveloped parts of Cuba.
The book is the result of a series of interviews of Zayas conducted by Mary-Alice Waters and others, primarily in 2007 and 2009 in Havana. In the interview format, Zayas responds to questions advanced by Waters and the answers are sometimes rambling and filled with detail, such as lists of names of people and places which are likely more significant to those who know a great deal more about the locale and its history than the average reader. Fortunately, a glossary of individuals, organizations, and events is included. The book is well illustrated with black-and-white photos.
Soldier of the Cuban Revolution is one of a series of several books published by Pathfinder Press about the Cuban Revolution. In her introduction, Waters asserts the workers and farmers of Cuba accomplished the impossible: "They broke the armed might, and then the economic power, of the existing ruling class and set out to create a just world order." Whether they have fully accomplished their task is for future historians to decide; but, for now, the revolutionaries like Zayas are the winners and as such they have won the right to tell their story.
John Michael Senger
April 4, 2011
October 28, 2025
The author recounts his experiences over five decades of the revolution. From a teenage combatant in the clandestine struggle and 1956–58 war that brought down the US-backed dictatorship, to serving three times as a leader of the Cuban volunteer forces that helped Angola defeat the army of white-supremacist South Africa, Zayas tells how he and other ordinary men and women in Cuba changed the course of history and, in the process, transformed themselves as well.
“Telling his own life story of being a farm worker to leading armies, [Zayas] provides his own unique perspective on Cuba’s revolution and much more. A fascinating delve into history from another perspective, Soldier of the Cuban Revolution would do well in international history collections.”—Midwest Book Review
"The book’s strength rests … on Zayas’s ability to present an account of the revolution through the eyes of someone who played a significant role in its initiation and consolidation."—Bulletin of Latin American Research
“The book is a valuable source as it retells a part of Cuba’s history rarely known in the US.… Recommended for public and academic libraries.”—REFORMA Newsletter online review of the Spanish edition.
“The work portrays revolutionary and post-revolutionary Cuba in an uncritically positive light, making this volume interesting, in an era of historical and political relativism, for its forthright pro-socialist narrative.” —Research Book News
“Presents events of the Cuban revolution through the eyes of a man who was there, playing an intimate role in these momentous events” —ForeWord Review
“With this firsthand account of his involvement from the front lines of the Cuban Revolution, Zayas captures the heady days of late 1958–early 1959.… [R]ecommended for libraries strong on history and current events, as well for popular collections on Latin America's social movements.” —Library Journal online review of the Spanish edition.
“Telling his own life story of being a farm worker to leading armies, [Zayas] provides his own unique perspective on Cuba’s revolution and much more. A fascinating delve into history from another perspective, Soldier of the Cuban Revolution would do well in international history collections.”—Midwest Book Review
"The book’s strength rests … on Zayas’s ability to present an account of the revolution through the eyes of someone who played a significant role in its initiation and consolidation."—Bulletin of Latin American Research
“The book is a valuable source as it retells a part of Cuba’s history rarely known in the US.… Recommended for public and academic libraries.”—REFORMA Newsletter online review of the Spanish edition.
“The work portrays revolutionary and post-revolutionary Cuba in an uncritically positive light, making this volume interesting, in an era of historical and political relativism, for its forthright pro-socialist narrative.” —Research Book News
“Presents events of the Cuban revolution through the eyes of a man who was there, playing an intimate role in these momentous events” —ForeWord Review
“With this firsthand account of his involvement from the front lines of the Cuban Revolution, Zayas captures the heady days of late 1958–early 1959.… [R]ecommended for libraries strong on history and current events, as well for popular collections on Latin America's social movements.” —Library Journal online review of the Spanish edition.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews