Editor Pick
Cuartel Moncada
- November 7, 2000
- Rated 3 of 5 by
Joel from Hasselt, Limburg, Belgium
Another famous must-see is the Cuartel Moncada, just off the Avenida de los Libertadores, if only for the place it has in Cuban history. These barracks were futilely stormed by Fidel Castro and his band of revolutionaries on July 26, 1953. One building is peppered with bullet holes from the attack. The original were plastered over on Batista's orders and are hollowed out again when Castro came to power. They even used photographs to make sure the positions were as authentic as possible. Be sure you find a book to read about what happened here in 1953! Although the attack was a disaster in military terms, it was a political triumph and elevated Fidel Castro to hero status throughout Cuba. Inside this building is the Museo 26 de Julio. Unfortunately I didn't make time to visit it but I've read this one quote of Fidel Castro that has almost the same spirit as José Martí's pretext when he started the revolution: "Vale más morir de pies a vivir de rodillas" (It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees). And Castro became even more popular when he decided to do his own defence in court after being prisoned. Speaking for five hours, he charted the plight of Cuban people using an arsenal of statistics to assault the regime. A reprisal of this speech was later published as a manifesto for revolution, known as 'history will absolve me'.
From journal Viva la Revolución