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Haydée Santamaría: Rebel Lives
Haydée Santamaría led a full and painful life. One of a handful of Cuba’s female revolutionary leaders, she suffered torture in Batista’s prisons. After 1959, she established the world-renowned Latin American literary institution, Casa de las Americas. Its director for 20 years, Haydée provided intellectual and physical refuge for artists and writers in exile from Latin American dictatorships. Among those who pay tribute to Santamaría here are Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Benedetti and Roque Dalton. -------------- "We were born into an unjust system. We are not prepared to grow old in it."—Bernadette Devlin Rebel Lives books feature writings both by and about individuals who have played significant roles in humanity’s ongoing fight for a better world. The series shows the not-so-well-recognized political views of some well-known figures and introduces some not-so-famous rebels. Strongly representative of race, class and gender, these books are smaller format, inexpensive, accessible and provocative.
- GenresHistory
90 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2003
53 people want to read
About the author
Haydée Santamaría
17 books2 followersHaydée Santamaría Cuadrado was a revolutionary and politician, regarded as a heroine in post-revolutionary Cuba. She participated in the assault on Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba on July 26, 1953, an action for which she was imprisoned along with Melba Hernández. She was a founding member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and one of the first women to join the PCC. She maintained a high position in its leadership throughout her life.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 31, 2025
"Life and death can be beautiful, and noble, when you fight for your life, but also when you give it up without compromise. All I have wanted to show our young Cubans is that life is more beautiful when you live that way. It is the only way to live."
What this book is, are a few writings by Haydee Santamaria, one on Moncada, a few letters to her comrades, and one a transcript of a fairly lengthy interview that was done with her about the revolution and her incredible project she headed at the time, Casa de la Americas. The rest of the book is mostly letters about her, to her, at various events, etc. speaking about her in regards to the Casa de la Americas, and on her life after her death.
I really wish this was longer! The more I read about the July 26ers the more I am in awe of their bravery, comradery, and solidarity. Most of all their sense of togetherness, and their boundless vision for a better way of life, and always seeing how delicate, inventive, and loving others are. The bonds that forged their alliance are some of the most compelling I've felt. I really feel like people who live lives unengaged with a movement are missing out on a critical component of what it means to be human. It really does feel like nothing like this sense of community and communal love exists here in the modern day United States. To quote Guevara on this feeling (written to his mother after being jailed in Mexico with some of the Moncada rebels, including Fidel Castro and others), "During this time in prison... I totally identified with my comrades in the struggle. I recall a phrase that I once thought was ridiculous, or at least strange, referring to such a total identification between members of a group of combatants, to the effect that the idea of "I" was completely subsumed in the concept of "we". It was a communist moral principle and naturally might look like doctrinaire exaggeration, but it was (and is) really beautiful to have this sense of "we".
Santamaria was another irreplaceable figure in the revolution. Alongside the other July 26ers, her life, her personality, seems like something out of a mythology. She said in a letter to Che upon hearing of his death, "everything you created was perfect, but you made a unique creation, you made yourself. You demonstrated that the new human being is possible, all of us could see that the new human being is a reality, because he exists, he is you." I'm quite certain all those who contributed in the writing of this would agree she is also part of this new human being.
When she was a child, she was found once laying on a hen's nest, with plenty of peck marks all over her. She said she wanted to create something like the hens did. Later she would invent an imaginary grandfather, who was a famous rebel, which she would go and pray at his grave. Obviously influenced early on by figures like Jose Marti, I believe she always saw herself as part of something bigger, and wanted to give, partially motivated by her sense of connectedness with the world.
She was one of the original Moncada rebels, at which both her brother and fiance were tortured, as well as her. The Batista soldiers brought her the bleeding eye of her brother, and the mangled testicle of her fiance, in an attempt to get her to talk. She endured great pain, showed no fear and revealed no information. This would be an ongoing phenomenon with her, no matter how much danger she was in, was always unflinching. Later she would disseminate copies of History Will Absolve Me. She would eventually become part of the Santiago De Cuba rebellion on Nov.30, buying time and getting attention and resources away from those arriving on the Granma who set up base in the Sierra Maestra. Eventually she would be part of the Mariana Grajales Women’s Platoon in the Sierra Maestra. Between all this, she completed countless supply missions, and helped hide many rebels, delivered many messages to various July 26ers across Cuba (including ones in prison) while being a target of the Batista government. At one point she would go to the United States, and procured funds and supplies to send to the revolution from there, including planes and boats (many of which they were overcharged for and did not make it).
After the revolution, she would start the Casa de la Americas, an art institute designed to host and promote a pan-Latin vision in the style of Bolivar and Marti "from Mexico to Cape Horn" a single united America, "Our America". It became a hub for many exiles across the Americas who were targets of repression in their governments, as well as being a safe place for artists who might want to criticize Castro's own government. It really deserves it's own study, because they did a lot for art and international relations, making many Spanish only texts accessible to other parts of the world and featured many, many influential artists of all types. Like the Mother Hen she wanted to be, she gave birth to generations of artists across the world. She gave more than she would've imagined is my guess. Her passion for art and intercourse with artists, along other rebels, is a reminder that these visions for a better society, these movements, uplifting humanity, these are inseparable values from being an artist. The rebel and the artist are birds of a feather.
I cannot fathom how strong of a person she must be. A lot of this book brought tears to my eyes. It's tragic that she took her own life, granted, for what she has been through, very understandable.
Essential reading for those who want to know the most important figures of the Cuban Revolution.
What this book is, are a few writings by Haydee Santamaria, one on Moncada, a few letters to her comrades, and one a transcript of a fairly lengthy interview that was done with her about the revolution and her incredible project she headed at the time, Casa de la Americas. The rest of the book is mostly letters about her, to her, at various events, etc. speaking about her in regards to the Casa de la Americas, and on her life after her death.
I really wish this was longer! The more I read about the July 26ers the more I am in awe of their bravery, comradery, and solidarity. Most of all their sense of togetherness, and their boundless vision for a better way of life, and always seeing how delicate, inventive, and loving others are. The bonds that forged their alliance are some of the most compelling I've felt. I really feel like people who live lives unengaged with a movement are missing out on a critical component of what it means to be human. It really does feel like nothing like this sense of community and communal love exists here in the modern day United States. To quote Guevara on this feeling (written to his mother after being jailed in Mexico with some of the Moncada rebels, including Fidel Castro and others), "During this time in prison... I totally identified with my comrades in the struggle. I recall a phrase that I once thought was ridiculous, or at least strange, referring to such a total identification between members of a group of combatants, to the effect that the idea of "I" was completely subsumed in the concept of "we". It was a communist moral principle and naturally might look like doctrinaire exaggeration, but it was (and is) really beautiful to have this sense of "we".
Santamaria was another irreplaceable figure in the revolution. Alongside the other July 26ers, her life, her personality, seems like something out of a mythology. She said in a letter to Che upon hearing of his death, "everything you created was perfect, but you made a unique creation, you made yourself. You demonstrated that the new human being is possible, all of us could see that the new human being is a reality, because he exists, he is you." I'm quite certain all those who contributed in the writing of this would agree she is also part of this new human being.
When she was a child, she was found once laying on a hen's nest, with plenty of peck marks all over her. She said she wanted to create something like the hens did. Later she would invent an imaginary grandfather, who was a famous rebel, which she would go and pray at his grave. Obviously influenced early on by figures like Jose Marti, I believe she always saw herself as part of something bigger, and wanted to give, partially motivated by her sense of connectedness with the world.
She was one of the original Moncada rebels, at which both her brother and fiance were tortured, as well as her. The Batista soldiers brought her the bleeding eye of her brother, and the mangled testicle of her fiance, in an attempt to get her to talk. She endured great pain, showed no fear and revealed no information. This would be an ongoing phenomenon with her, no matter how much danger she was in, was always unflinching. Later she would disseminate copies of History Will Absolve Me. She would eventually become part of the Santiago De Cuba rebellion on Nov.30, buying time and getting attention and resources away from those arriving on the Granma who set up base in the Sierra Maestra. Eventually she would be part of the Mariana Grajales Women’s Platoon in the Sierra Maestra. Between all this, she completed countless supply missions, and helped hide many rebels, delivered many messages to various July 26ers across Cuba (including ones in prison) while being a target of the Batista government. At one point she would go to the United States, and procured funds and supplies to send to the revolution from there, including planes and boats (many of which they were overcharged for and did not make it).
After the revolution, she would start the Casa de la Americas, an art institute designed to host and promote a pan-Latin vision in the style of Bolivar and Marti "from Mexico to Cape Horn" a single united America, "Our America". It became a hub for many exiles across the Americas who were targets of repression in their governments, as well as being a safe place for artists who might want to criticize Castro's own government. It really deserves it's own study, because they did a lot for art and international relations, making many Spanish only texts accessible to other parts of the world and featured many, many influential artists of all types. Like the Mother Hen she wanted to be, she gave birth to generations of artists across the world. She gave more than she would've imagined is my guess. Her passion for art and intercourse with artists, along other rebels, is a reminder that these visions for a better society, these movements, uplifting humanity, these are inseparable values from being an artist. The rebel and the artist are birds of a feather.
I cannot fathom how strong of a person she must be. A lot of this book brought tears to my eyes. It's tragic that she took her own life, granted, for what she has been through, very understandable.
Essential reading for those who want to know the most important figures of the Cuban Revolution.
June 23, 2021
I wish I could rate this as a 3.5. It was very short, and because of its length, it didn’t go into as much detail as I would have liked. That could have also been my needing to know better what I was getting my the purchase.
As an admirer of Che' Guevara, I was floored but not surprised to learn of Haydee Santamaria being one of two women who participated in the armed attack that sparked the Cuban Revolution. Unfortunately, history has left out the amazing contributions of so many women!
The Duke University Press had this to say: "Taking part in the Cuban Revolution's first armed action in 1953 (The Moncada Garrison Attack), enduring the torture and killings of her brother and fiancé, assuming a leadership role in the underground movement, and smuggling weapons into Cuba, Haydée Santamaría was the only woman to participate in every phase of the Revolution."
To read this and see correspondence and stories detailing the respect and admiration Haydee garnered from her peers, including Che' and Fidel, makes me sad as I think about how her story isn't as readily available as the others.
I love this description: "'Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano hay la revolución.' (When the extraordinary becomes ordinary, that is the revolution.) Haydee embodies this sense of greatness expected, of the remarkable turned probable."
"She had the gift of a real leader: being capable of bringing out the best qualities in everyone. That allowed her to be a part of a team in which mediocrity never flourished but on the contrary, grew the finest flowers of the human condition"..... "In the revolution and in Casa, she remains forever young."
As an admirer of Che' Guevara, I was floored but not surprised to learn of Haydee Santamaria being one of two women who participated in the armed attack that sparked the Cuban Revolution. Unfortunately, history has left out the amazing contributions of so many women!
The Duke University Press had this to say: "Taking part in the Cuban Revolution's first armed action in 1953 (The Moncada Garrison Attack), enduring the torture and killings of her brother and fiancé, assuming a leadership role in the underground movement, and smuggling weapons into Cuba, Haydée Santamaría was the only woman to participate in every phase of the Revolution."
To read this and see correspondence and stories detailing the respect and admiration Haydee garnered from her peers, including Che' and Fidel, makes me sad as I think about how her story isn't as readily available as the others.
I love this description: "'Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano hay la revolución.' (When the extraordinary becomes ordinary, that is the revolution.) Haydee embodies this sense of greatness expected, of the remarkable turned probable."
"She had the gift of a real leader: being capable of bringing out the best qualities in everyone. That allowed her to be a part of a team in which mediocrity never flourished but on the contrary, grew the finest flowers of the human condition"..... "In the revolution and in Casa, she remains forever young."
March 21, 2013
Very short and very sad. Fiercly brave, she was one of two woman who participated in the attack on the Moncada barracks that sparked the Cuban Revolution. Despite her accomplishments, she never fully recovered from the suffering she endured (prison and torture) in its aftermath. Many of her friends, family, and comrades have speculated as to why she took her own life. I was left wondering if she suffered from survivor's guilt. Even as the years passed, the dead were always with her, they spoke to her and she to them. Her brother Abel and her fiancée Boris were tortured and executed after the Moncada, Frank Pais, the leader of the urban underground, and Che, were never far from her thoughts and influenced her actions. This small book is divided in two parts: By Haydee in which she recounts the Mancado attack, her role in the Revolution, and the establishment of the Casa de las Americas, and About Haydee, a selection of tributes by the Cuban artists she supported, and finally recollections by the comrades who fought alongside her (including Melba Hernandez who was the other "Mancado Woman"). This book was published in 2003, five years before Haydee's daughter Celia (named after her best friend and campenera Celia Sanchez) and her son Abel (named after beloved brother) were killed in an automobile accident in Havana.
January 30, 2014
Although a small book, this tome telling the story of this amazing Revolutionary is extremely powerful. Told through her words and eulogies of those who knew and loved her, the suffering and strength of this woman who gave everything to the Cuban revolution is told. As one eulogy pointed out, she is truly the equal of Che in revolutionary spirit. Her life is a sad but inspiring tale of great love and great loss.
August 3, 2007
the book was short and sweet. letters from fidel castro and che guevara to santamaria. it's a shame it was really short.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews