Haydée Santamaría, Cuban Revolutionary: She Led by Transgression

Taking part in the Cuban Revolution's first armed action in 1953, enduring the torture and killings of her brother and fianc , assuming a leadership role in the underground movement, and smuggling weapons into Cuba, Hayd e Santamar a was the only woman to participate in every phase of the Revolution. Virtually unknown outside of Cuba, Santamar a was a trusted member of Fidel Castro's inner circle and friend of Che Guevara. Following the Revolution's victory Santamar a founded and ran the cultural and arts institution Casa de las Americas, which attracted cutting-edge artists, exposed Cubans to some of the world's greatest creative minds, and protected queer, black, and feminist artists from state repression. Santamar a's suicide in 1980 caused confusion and discomfort throughout Cuba; despite her commitment to the Revolution, communist orthodoxy's disapproval of suicide prevented the Cuban leadership from mourning and celebrating her in the Plaza of the Revolution. In this impressionistic portrait of her friend Hayd e Santamar a, Margaret Randall shows how one woman can help change the course of history.

Author: Margaret Randall
Publisher: Duke University Press
Published: 08/14/2015
Pages: 248
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.60d
ISBN13: 9780822359623
ISBN10: 0822359626
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | Women
- History | Caribbean & West Indies | Cuba

About the Author
Margaret Randall is the author of dozens of books of poetry and prose, including Che on My Mind, and the translator of When Rains Became Floods: A Child Soldier's Story, both also published by Duke University Press.