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The province of Granma is named after the famous boat which took Fidel
Castro and 82 companions from Mexico to Cuba to overthrow the Batista
Government. You can find a lot of interesting sites related to this
expedition in the province: the place where the boat landed, the site
where Fidel had his headquarters, some battle sites. Since Fidel was very
conscious about the Cuban history it's probably not a coincidence that you
can find a lot of sites related to the two Wars of Independence against
Spain. Jose
Marti who made a similar landing as Fidel in the province of
Quantanamo 61 years before, died in this province.
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Granma, Alto del Naranjo, La Comandancia de la Plata
(CW
2001)
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Whenever
in Cuba, you may not miss this place. After the disastrous
disembarkation of the Granma Fidel Castro and 22 others fled into the
mountains of the Sierra Maestra with the help of Celia
Sanchez. Here they created a big guerilla base and for two years
Fidel Castro's headquarters were situated here (After this his
headquartes were situated in the former Hilton Hotel in Havana). From
here the guerillas raided outposts of Batista's army like La Plata and
El Uvero. In February 1958 Radio Rebelde started to broadcast from the
mountains. Another famous hero of this period was Frank
Pais. He was an underground guerilla who lived in Santiago de Cuba.
He sent many guerillas to the Sierra Maestra. |
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La Comandancia de la Plata |
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Granma, Bayamo
(CW
2001)
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In this city
the Cuban National Anthem was first sung on November 8, 1868 in the
Iglesia Parroquial Mayor de San Salvador. It was Perucho Figueredo who
composed, in 1867, the music of the Anthem. Later, in 1868, when the
independence forces seized the city of Bayamo, Figueredo wrote the
lyrics. In the center of town at Parque Cespedes there is a bust of
Figueredo with the words of the National Anthem. On the other side of
the square is a statue of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes in front of his
native home, which you can visit. Alongside the square is the
Ayuntamiento (town hall). In front of this building Cespedes proclaimed
the independence of Cuba in 1868, the beginning of the First War of
Independence. Next to the square you can visit the Iglesia Parroquial
Mayor de San Salvador. Bayamo also played an important role in the
Attack of the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba in 1953. The Carlos Manuel de
Cespedes military barracks in Bauamo were attacked by 25
revolutionaries on July 26, 1953. This way the revolutionaries hoped to
support the assault on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba by
preventing reinforcements being sent. In the north-east of town is a beautiful Plaza de
la Revolucion.
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Bayamo |
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Granma, Manzanillo
(CW
2003)
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Manzanillo
is famous for La Demajagua, the sugar mill estate of Carlos
Manuel de Cespedes and Celia Sanchez, who was the local guerilla
leader of the M-26-7 Movement during the landing of the Granma. La
Demajagua lays about 10 kilometer to the south of the city. In the city
itself you can visit a big monument for Celia Sanchez and a nice Plaza
de la Revolucion.
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Manzanillo |
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Granma, Dos
Rios, Memorial
of the killing of Jose Marti
(CW
2001)
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Shortly
after José Martí
had landed in Playitas
de Cajobabo with general Maximo
Gomez and four others on April 11 1895 to start the Second War of Independence
against Spain, he was killed at this site by the Spanish on May 19, 1895.
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Dos Rios |
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Granma, Guisa
(CW
2001)
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Guisa
ist best known for the battle between Fidel Castro and Batista's
soldiers on November 30, 1958. After
Fidel Castro had sent the commandants Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos
with their columns to the west of Cuba, Fidel took the town of Guisa
with his column after a pitched battle. If you
enter the village you will see an armored vehicle which belonged to the
Batista soldiers. From this position, down in the valley the
Batista soldiers shot down three guerillas up on the hill. Behind the Plaza de la Revolucion
up on the hill you can find the graves and a
monument dedicated to the fallen guerillas of Fidel's group. |
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More Guisa
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Granma, Media Luna
(CW
2003)
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There are two important reasons to visit Media Luna. It's the native town
of Celia
Sanchez. You can visit her "Casa Natal" (native home) in
Media Luna. The other reason is a very romantic statue of Celia Sanchez at
the central square of the town.
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Granma, Niquero,
Plaza de la Revolucion
(CW
2001)
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Niquero
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Granma, Pilon, Casa Museo Celia Sanchez
(CW
2001)
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Between
big Royal Palms stands the house where Celia
Sanchez lived during the landing of the Granma. We understood that
from here Celia helped Fidel Castro and his guerillas after the landing
of the Granma by sending them supplies. Inside the house is a small
museum dedicated to Celia Sanchez. One of the most interesting items on
display is Celia's dental prosthesis. Part of the museum is
dedicated to other local heroes and the 1961 literacy campaign in the
region. |
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Pilon |
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Granma, Playa Las Coloradas
(CW
2001)
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This
is the place where the Granma landed with Fidel Castro and 82
revolutionaries aboard on December 2, 1956. Fidel and his men came back to Cuba to fight against the
government of Batista and start the Cuban Revolution. The disembarkation
of the Granma was disastrous. In Allegria de Pio the men had their first
clash with batista's army. Only 23 men survived and managed to
escape to the mountains of the
Sierra Maestra. An important supporter of the group was Celia
Sanchez, the M-26-7 underground leader in Manzanillo.
At the site you
can find a copy of the Granma. The original Granma you can see in Havana
in Pavillon Granma. There is also a small museum with portraits of the 82 men
and a map of the route the Granma made from Mexico to Cuba. A boardwalk
of 2.5 kilometer through the swamps will bring you to the exact location
where the Granma landed. If you are walking through the swamps you can
understand a little about the difficulties the revolutionaries had to
overcome.
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Playa Las Coloradas |
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Granma, La Aguadita
(CW
2003)
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This
is the spot where Raul Castro and his group (Ciro Redondo Garcia, Rene
Rodriguez Cruz, Efigenio Ameijeiras Delgado and Armando Rodriguez Moyja)
passed on 17 December 1956. |
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Along the way between Pilon and Santiago de Cuba
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Granma, Alto del Mareon
(CW
2003)
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This
is the spot where Juan Almeida Bosque and his group (Ernesto "Che"
Guevara de la Serna, Ramiro Valdez Menendez, Rafael Chao Santana, Camilo
Cienfuegos Gorriaran, Reynaldo Benitez Napoles and Francisco Gonzalez
Hernandez) passed on 19 December 1956. |
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Along the way between Pilon and Santiago de Cuba
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Granma, Cinco Palmas
(CW
2003)
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Cinco
Palmes is the place where Fidel Castro and Raul Castro and their group
of freighters met under 5 palms for the first time after the
disembarkation of the Granma. The place is marked by a concrete stone
with a plate. Nowadays there is a nice encampment for young pioneers (Pioneros). |
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Cinco Palmas |
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Granma, Campechuela
(CW
2001)
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Granma, Alegria de Pio
(CW
2003)
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After
the landing of the Granma and the first slaughtering of the
revolutionaries by Batista's troops, the remaining men reached Alegria
de Pio on 5 December 1956. All around Alegria you can find the concrete
stones which has been made to commemorate the passing of the survivors
of the disembarkation of the Granma. |
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Granma, Yara
(CW
2003)
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At
this place Carlos Manuel Cespedes fought his first battle against the Spaniards
on October 11, 1868. The monument commemorates the fact. |
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Main square of Yara
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Republic of Cuba
