Trip to Santiago - Part 2
...In which we continue the narrative of Cuban history, in the context of our trip to Santiago...
Revolution: The Granjita Siboney and the attack on the Moncada barracks
Governments after independence were not always stable, but were at least elected by Cubans. But in 1952 a previous president, Fulgencio Batista, took power by force. His regime was extremely repressive and was quickly recognized by the U.S.
A
young band of fighters, headed by Fidel Castro, made their way to a
small farm on the outskirts of Santiago called the Granjita
Siboney. They were ostensibly raising chickens, but were in
fact accumulating arms hidden in wells
around the house (photo with Pedro).
On
July 26, 1953, at the peak of Santiago's raucous
annual carnival, they struck at the Moncada barracks, but were defeated.
Monuments (picture) were erected along the road to Siboney in honor
of the revolutionaries who were killed. Most of the band were from far-off
Havana and slowed in retreat because they had to ask directions. Fidel
Castro was captured (and later released in a general amnesty). The movement
now took its name from the date of this first attack, the 26th of July.
The flag of the 26th of July movement
is displayed over the graves of those who died in the revolution.
Frank País -- model Baptist and hero of the revolution
Frank
País was the son of the pastor of the First
Baptist Church in Santiago. As a young man, he was a music minister
in the church, and a teacher at the school of the 2nd
Baptist Church, where we ate (very tasty) lunch every day in Santiago.
The photo at right is from his grave in the Santa Ifigenia cemetary,
where he is buried with his family, rather than with other "heroes
of the revolution."
Frank
had been invited to the training camp that Castro had set up in Mexico
after his release. In the fall of 1956 - in the corner behind Kyle in
the picture - Frank told the headmaster that he wouldn't be returning
to teach. He had been charged with organizing the
uprising of Santiago to distract attention from the rebels
who would be arriving on the Granma yacht from Mexico in November
1956. He did this ably, and revolutionary forces had control of the
city for 24 hours. But the Granma was late, so ironically the Santiago
uprising served to bring more government troops close to their landing
place. Frank continued to supply the revolutionary force that fled to
the mountains, but he was killed the following summer, at age 22. He's
continued to be somewhat of an enigma for both the revolutionaries,
who prefer not to touch on his religious background or motivation, as
well as for Cuba's Protestants who are ambivalent about his revolutionary
involvement.
Panoramic
views of the Bay of Santiago from the Frank País park including
the former Esso refinery, nationalized within a few years of the success
of the revolutionary forces.
La Gran Piedra
Andres,
Pedro, Diego and Paul headed up to La Gran Piedra (the big
rock), a peak near Santiago. Here's the
way down.
