Haydée Santamaría
| Haydée Santamaría | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 30 December 1923 in Villa Clara, Cuba |
| Spouse(s) | Armando Hart |
| Children |
Celia Hart (1963-2008) Abel Santamaria Hart (1960-2008) |
| Relatives | Abel Santamaria (brother) |
Haydée Santamaría Cuadrado (Villa Clara, December 30, 1923 – Havana, July 28, 1980) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician, regarded 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 with Melba Hernández.
She only attended school until the sixth grade, which was not uncommon. depression also ran in her family and it affected a large portion of the end of her life. Often she spent days in bed while in depressive episodes. She eventually married Armando Hart and had two kids with him, one being Celia Hart. They also took in many children and managed their own type of orphanage.[1]
During her imprisonment, the guards allegedly brought her the bleeding eye of her brother, Abel Santamaría and threatened to tear out the other. They also brought her the mangled testicle of her then fiance, Boris Luis Santa Coloma. Her response was: “If you did that to them and they didn't talk, much less will I.” She lost Abel and Boris in the assault of the Moncada Barracks.[1]
After her release she helped to found the 26th of July Movement, joining the guerrilla forces led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in the Sierra Maestra mountains. During the war she fought for the women’s battalion for the rebel army: the Mariana Grajales platoon.
After the Cuban Revolution was won in 1959 she founded the institution la Casa de las Américas, and remained its director for two decades. This was a bold institution that gave audience to the work of Latin American dissidents, and it continues today. As well as literature, the institution brought music, painting and theatre to the Cuban people. She was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba as well. [2]
Haydée Santamaría Cuadrado committed suicide in 1980, some months after a severe car accident. She was only 57 years old.[1] She used a 45 caliber bullet in the mouth. The date she killed herself on was believed to be significant because it was two days after July 26th which refers to the Moncada Barracks. It is possible she was thinking of Abel and Boris at this time.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 Randall, Margret (22 January 2015). "Haydée Santamaría, Cuban Revolutionary: She Led by Transgression". www.margretrandall.org. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
- 1 2 Castro, Tania Diaz (12 August 2013). "The Suicide of Haydee Santamaria". translatingcuba.com. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
External Links
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Haydee-Santamaria-Cuadrado
https://www.cubanet.org/actualidad-destacados/el-suicidio-mas-famoso-de-la-revolucion-cubana/