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34-539: The province takes its name from the yacht Granma , used by Che Guevara and Fidel Castro to land in Cuba with 82 guerrillas on December 2, 1956; until 1976 the area formed part of the larger Oriente Province . The American who sold the guerillas the secondhand yacht in Mexico apparently had named it "Granma" ("Granma", more usually "Grandma", is an affectionate term for a grandmother) after his grandmother. The name of

68-499: A World War II Cuban Navy veteran and ally of Castro. The location was chosen to emulate the voyage of national hero José Martí , who had landed in the same region 61 years earlier during the wars of independence from Spanish colonial rule. A rebellion organized by the 26th of July movement and planned by Haydée Santamaría , Celia Sánchez , and Frank País occurred in Santiago de Cuba . The rebellion happened on November 30 and

102-544: A light armored target practice boat, US Navy C-1994, and modified postwar to accommodate 12 people. "Granma", in English, is an affectionate term for a grandmother; the yacht is said to have been named for the previous owner's grandmother. In 1953, beginning their first attack against the Batista government, Fidel Castro gathered 160 fighters and planned a multi-pronged attack on two military installations. On 26 July 1953,

136-467: A nearby hospital where an exiled Che Guevara was working as a doctor. Guevara, who had met Lopez previously in Guatemala was invited to meet with Fidel Castro by Lopez. The Castro brothers, Lopez, and Guevara were to be the first volunteers for the expedition. On the evening of July 8, 1954 Guevara and Fidel Castro met in the home of Maria Antonia Gonzalez. The apartment later became a headquarters for

170-439: A revolutionary boot camp, congregating for daily lessons on politics and conducting secret communications with supporters around Cuba. "What a fantastic school this prison is!" Castro wrote in a letter. "From here I’m able to finish forging my vision of the world...". After Castro's revolutionary triumph in 1959, Presidio Modelo remained in operation. By 1961, due to the overcrowded conditions (up to 4000 prisoners at one time), it

204-470: A series of vicissitudes and misadventures, including diminishing supplies, sea-sickness, and the near-foundering of their heavily laden and leaking craft, they disembarked on December 2 on the Playa Las Coloradas , in the municipality of Niquero , in modern Granma Province (named for the vessel), formerly part of the larger Oriente Province . Granma was piloted by Norberto Collado Abreu ,

238-564: A total area of 8,375.49 km (3,233.79 sq mi), the province had a population density of 99.0/km (256/sq mi). Granma (yacht) Granma is a yacht that was used to transport 82 fighters of the Cuban Revolution from Mexico to Cuba in November 1956 to overthrow the regime of Fulgencio Batista . The 60-foot (18 m) diesel-powered vessel was built in 1943 by Wheeler Shipbuilding of Brooklyn, New York, as

272-416: Is debatable; however, in his autobiography, Fidel Castro wrote that six were killed during the fighting, and an additional 55 were executed after being captured by the Batista government. Due to the government's large number of men, Hunt revised the number to about 60 members taking the opportunity to flee to the mountains along with Castro. Among the dead was Abel Santamaría , Castro's second-in-command, who

306-481: Is still unknown who removed the light armor and expanded the cabin postwar to convert the navy training boat into a civilian yacht. Castro's 26th of July Movement had attempted to purchase a Catalina flying boat maritime aircraft, or a US naval crash rescue boat for the purpose of crossing the Gulf of Mexico to Cuba, but their efforts had been thwarted by lack of funds. The money to purchase Granma had been raised in

340-659: The Sierra Maestra to conduct guerilla warfare. However, due to choppy weather, the Granma had landed two days late on December 2, and as a result, the supporting uprising was left isolated and was quickly destroyed. As a result of this, the rebels had lost the element of surprise, and the military was put on high alert in the region. We reached solid ground, lost, stumbling along like so many shadows or ghosts marching in response to some obscure psychic impulse. We had been through seven days of constant hunger and sickness during

374-475: The Cabo Cruz lighthouse, the navigator had fallen overboard, after which he had to be rescued. With the night quickly departing, Fidel ordered for the ship to land at the nearest point of land. However, they had crashed into a sandbar, a mile short of the intended point of rendezvous, in a mangrove swamp. The reception party had departed from the lighthouse the night prior after waiting for two days. They departed

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408-647: The Isla de Pinos ("Isle of Pines"), now the Isla de la Juventud ("Isle of Youth"), in Cuba . It is located in the suburban quarter of Chacón, Nueva Gerona . The prison was built under the President-turned-dictator Gerardo Machado between 1926 and 1931. The five circular blocks, with cells constructed in tiers around central observation posts, were built with the capacity to house up to 5,000 prisoners. The panopticon design allowed

442-711: The US state of Florida by former President of Cuba Carlos Prío Socarrás and Teresa Casuso Morín . Soon after midnight on November 25, 1956, in the Mexican port of Tuxpan, Veracruz , Granma was boarded surreptitiously by 82 members of the 26th of July Movement including their commander, Fidel Castro, his brother, Raúl Castro , Che Guevara , and Camilo Cienfuegos . The group—who later came to be known collectively as los expedicionarios del yate Granma (the Granma yacht expeditioners)—then set out from Tuxpan at 2 a.m. After

476-507: The boat and were forced to leave much of their food, ammunition and medicine behind, landing onto shore in the mid-morning. During the landing, they had been spotted by the Cuban coast guard, after which news of the landing was relayed to the armed forces. After splitting into two groups upon reaching dry land, the rebels were forced to gradually abandon more equipment as they navigated the bush. During this period, Batista predicted correctly that

510-646: The expedition made landfall, was renamed Granma Province in honor of the vessel. UNESCO has declared the Landing of the Granma National Park —established at the location (Playa Las Coloradas)—a World Heritage Site for its natural habitat. The Cuban government celebrates December 2 as the Day of the Cuban Armed Forces , and a replica has also been paraded at state functions to commemorate

544-859: The foot of Pico Turquino in the Sierra Maestra to perform guerilla warfare. Initially, Batista did not know who exactly were among the casualties, and international media widely reported that Fidel had died. This was, however, not the case. Of the 82, about 21 had survived. According to the most credible version, the survivors were Fidel, Raúl, Guevara, Armando Rodríguez , Faustino Pérez  [ es ] , Ramiro Valdés , Universo Sánchez , Efigenio Ameijeiras , René Rodríguez , Camilo Cienfuegos , Juan Almeida Bosque , Calixto García , Calixto Morales , Reinaldo Benítez , Julio Díaz , Luis Crespo Cabrera , Rafael Chao , Ciro Redondo  [ es ] , José Morán , Carlos Bermúdez , and Fransisco González . All others had been either killed, captured, or left behind. The 82 expeditioners were: Soon after

578-448: The government supplied only the bare necessities of life. However, Castro and the other rebels were not kept in the circular buildings with their small cells and harsh conditions, but were instead kept in the hospital wing, which had a larger living area with better beds and living conditions. The dictator Fulgencio Batista had made the mistake of placing all the conspirators together in the hospital wing, and they proceeded to treat it as

612-463: The guards to watch the prisoners constantly. Thirty of the survivors of the rebel attacks on Moncada Barracks in July 1953 ‍ — including Fidel Castro and his brother, Raúl Castro ‍ — were imprisoned there until 1955. At that time, the four circular buildings were packed with 6,000 men, every floor was filled with trash, there was no running water, food rations were meager, and

646-519: The landing would occur, and his troops were ready. Consequentially, the landing party was bombarded by helicopters and airplanes soon after landing. Since the terrain on the coastline provided little cover, the party was an easy target. After two days on December 4, the separate groups had found each other and trekked further inland in the direction of the Sierra Maestra with the help of a local peasant guide. Shortly after midnight on December 5,

680-561: The non-elite Cubans, justice for the Cuban community, and his patriotism. Fidel was sentenced to 15 years in the prison Presidio Modelo , located on Isla de Pinos , while Raúl was sentenced to 13 years. However, in 1955, yielding to political considerations, the Batista government freed all political prisoners in Cuba, including the Moncada attackers. Fidel's Jesuit childhood teachers succeeded in persuading Batista to include Fidel and Raúl in

714-573: The original voyage. In further tribute, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party has been named Granma . The name of the vessel became a symbol for Cuban communism . 23°8′27″N 82°21′25″W  /  23.14083°N 82.35694°W  / 23.14083; -82.35694 Presidio Modelo The Presidio Modelo was a "model prison " with panopticon design, built on

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748-401: The rebel column had halted to rest for the night at a sugarcane field, where they had feasted on stalks of cane, leaving behind their presence to enemy forces. During this time, their guide had abandoned them, telling nearby soldiers of the presence and location of the rebels. Passing by the edge of a cane field, the rebels were then ambushed in the afternoon at Alegría de Pío. Caught by surprise,

782-520: The rebels attacked the Moncada Barracks in Santiago and the barracks in Bayamo , only to be defeated decisively by the far more numerous government soldiers. It was hoped that the staged attack would initiate a nationwide revolt against Batista's government. After an hour of fighting most of the rebels and their commander fled to the mountains. The exact number of rebels killed in the battle

816-438: The rebels panicked and milled around as their organization and cohesion were destroyed. Fidel ordered his men to follow him into the forests to escape, however, in the midst of the fighting, many abandoned their equipment, and others who were paralyzed by shock and terror remained where they were. Many casualties ensued, most of them during battle at Alegría de Pío  [ es ] further inland. The survivors continued to

850-738: The rebels. Castro realised he had little money for his plans and in October travelled to New Jersey and Miami to raise money from Cuban exiles for his invasion. The yacht was purchased on October 10, 1956, for MX$ 50,000 ( US$ 4,000 in 1956) from the United States–based Schuylkill Products Company, Inc., by a Mexican citizen—said to be Mexico City gun dealer Antonio "The Friend" del Conde —secretly representing Fidel Castro . The builder, Wheeler Shipbuiding, then of Brooklyn, New York, now of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, also built Ernest Hemmingway 's boat Pilar . It

884-517: The release. Fidel Castro left Cuba for exile in Mexico. In Mexico, Fidel Castro soon met with Spanish Civil War veteran Alberto Bayo . Castro informed Bayo he had a plan to invade Cuba but had no money for weapons or a single volunteered soldier. Despite the lack of resources Bayo decided to assist Castro's plan because giving military advice would not cost him anything. With time Fidel would be joined by his brother Raúl Castro , and his old comrade Antonio "Ñico" López. Lopez would bring Raúl Castro to

918-419: The revenue comes from coffee grown in the forested and mountainous regions of the province. During the coffee harvest soldiers may set up roadblocks to ensure the delivery of the coffee to the government and not to the black market . Download coordinates as: Source: Population from 2004 Census. Area from 1976 municipal re-distribution. In 2004, the province of Granma had a population of 829,333. With

952-669: The revolutionary forces triumphed on January 1, 1959, the cabin cruiser was transferred to Havana Bay . Norberto Collado Abreu, who had served as main helmsman for the 1956 voyage, received the job of guarding and preserving the yacht. Since 1976, the yacht has been displayed permanently in a glass enclosure at the Memorial Granma adjacent to the Museum of the Revolution in Havana . A portion of old Oriente Province , where

986-552: The sea crossing, topped by three still more terrible days on land. Exactly 10 days after our departure from Mexico, during the early morning hours of December 5, following a night-long march interrupted by fainting and frequent rest periods, we reached a spot paradoxically known as Alegría de Pío (Rejoicing of the Pious). – Che Guevara The Granma had approached the Playa las Coloradas in the early morning of December 2, 1956. Trying to spot

1020-516: The site of Castro's headquarters at La Plata . There are numerous abandoned gold , silver , and manganese mine sites. At the 2018 parliamentary election , Granma was the province with the highest proportion of votes recorded for the full list. On 12 April 2020, Veguitas, a town in Gramna Province, recorded a temperature of 39.7 °C (103.5 °F). This is the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Cuba. The majority of

1054-464: The vessel became an icon for Cuban communism. The province is full of reminders of the Cuban Revolution , and of the Cuban Wars of Independence; plaques in the mountain commemorate the 1959 struggle against Fulgencio Batista . Other sites, unmarked, include archaeological digs , the sites of several palenques , and the fortified hamlets of escaped slaves. In 2005 Hurricane Dennis destroyed

Granma Province - Misplaced Pages Continue

1088-468: Was imprisoned, tortured, and executed on the same day as the attack. Numerous important revolutionaries, including the Castro brothers, were captured soon afterwards. During a political trial, Fidel spoke for nearly four hours in his defense, ending with the words "Condemn me, it does not matter. History will absolve me ." Castro's defense was based on nationalism, representation and beneficial programs for

1122-404: Was meant to take place in conjunction with the landing of the Granma, which was expected to land in Cuba five days after departing from Mexico. A reception party was assigned to wait for the rebels during the uprising at the lighthouse at Cabo Cruz, with trucks and 100 men. After this, the plan was that they would raid the towns of Niquero and Manzanillo together, after which they would escape into

1156-453: Was the site of various riots and hunger strikes , especially just before the Bay of Pigs invasion , when orders were given to line the tunnels underneath the entire prison with several tons of TNT . Prominent Cuban political prisoners such as Armando Valladares , Roberto Martín Pérez , and Pedro Luis Boitel were held there at one point or another during their respective incarcerations. It

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