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''Granma'' is the
yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...
that was used to transport 82 fighters of the
Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in co ...
from Mexico to
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbe ...
in November 1956 for the purpose of overthrowing the regime of
Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator f ...
. The 60-foot (18 m) diesel-powered
cabin cruiser A cabin cruiser is a type of power boat that provides accommodation for its crew and passengers inside the structure of the craft. A cabin cruiser usually ranges in size from in length, with larger pleasure craft usually considered yachts. M ...
was built in 1943 by Wheeler Shipbuilding of Brooklyn, New York, as 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.


Background


Exile of Moncada attackers

Striking their first blow against the Batista government, Fidel and Raúl Castro gathered 70 fighters and planned a multi-pronged attack on several military installations. On 26 July 1953, the rebels attacked the
Moncada Barracks The Moncada Barracks was a military barracks in Santiago de Cuba, named after General Guillermo Moncada, a hero of the Cuban War of Independence. On 26 July 1953, the barracks was the site of an armed attack by a small group of revolutionaries ...
in
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, wh ...
and the barracks in
Bayamo Bayamo is the capital city of the Granma Province of Cuba and one of the largest cities in the Oriente region. Overview The community of Bayamo lies on a plain by the Bayamo River. It is affected by the violent Bayamo wind. One of the mo ...
, only to be decisively defeated by the far more numerous government soldiers. It was hoped that the staged attack would spark a nationwide revolt against Batista's government. After an hour of fighting most of the rebels and their leader fled to the mountains. The exact number of rebels killed in the battle is debatable; however, in his autobiography, Fidel Castro claimed that nine were killed in the fighting, and an additional 56 were executed after being captured by the Batista government. Due to the government's large number of men, Hunt revised the number to be around 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 was imprisoned, tortured, and executed on the same day as the attack. Numerous key Movement revolutionaries, including the Castro brothers, were captured shortly afterwards. In a highly 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, the representation and beneficial programs for the non-elite Cubans, and his patriotism and justice for the Cuban community. Fidel was sentenced to 15 years in the Presidio Modelo prison, located on Isla de Pinos, while Raúl was sentenced to 13 years. However, in 1955, under broad political pressure, the Batista government freed all political prisoners in Cuba, including the Moncada attackers. Fidel's
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...
childhood teachers succeeded in persuading Batista to include Fidel and Raúl in the release.


Conception

When Fidel Castro left Cuba for exile in Mexico he quickly met with
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
veteran Alberto Bayo. Castro informed Bayo he had a plan to invade Cuba but at the moment had no money for weapons or a single volunteered soldier. Despite the lack of resources Bayo decided to assist in Castro's plan reasoning giving military advice would cost him nothing. With time Fidel would be joined by his brother Raul Castro, his old comrade Antonio "Ñico" López. Lopez would bring Raul Castro to the nearby hospital where an exiled
Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...
was working as a doctor. Guevara, who had previously met Lopez in Guatemala was invited to meet with
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
by Lopez. The Castro brothers, Lopez, and Guevara were to be the first volunteers for the expediton. On the evening of July 8, 1954 Guevara and Fidel Castro would meet in the home of Maria Antonia Gonzalez. The apartment would later become a headquarters for the rebels. With time Castro would observe he had little money for his plans and in October would travel to
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
and
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at t ...
to raise money from
Cuban exiles The Cuban exodus is the mass emigration of Cubans from the island of Cuba after the Cuban Revolution of 1959. Throughout the exodus millions of Cubans from diverse social positions within Cuban society became disillusioned with life in Cuba ...
for his invasion.


Preparations

The yacht was purchased on October 10, 1956, for MX$50,000 (US$15,000) 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 Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
. The builder, Wheeler Shipbuiding, then of Brooklyn, New York, now of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, also built Hemingway's ''Pilar''. It 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 The 26th of July Movement ( es, Movimiento 26 de Julio; M-26-7) was a Cuban vanguard revolutionary organization and later a political party led by Fidel Castro. The movement's name commemorates its 26 July 1953 attack on the army barracks on Sa ...
had attempted to purchase a Catalina flying boat maritime aircraft, or a US naval
crash rescue boat Crash Rescue Boat is a name used in the United States to describe military high-speed offshore rescue boats, similar in size and performance to motor torpedo boats, used to rescue pilots and aircrews of crashed aircraft. During World War II th ...
for the purpose of crossing the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United St ...
to Cuba, but their efforts had been thwarted by lack of funds. The money to purchase ''Granma'' had been raised in the US state of
Florida Florida is a U.S. state, state located in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia (U.S. state), Geo ...
by former
President of Cuba The president of Cuba ( es, Presidente de Cuba), officially the president of the Republic of Cuba ( es, Presidente de la República de Cuba), is the head of state of Cuba. The office in its current form was established under the Constitution ...
Carlos Prío Socarrás Carlos Manuel Prío Socarrás (July 14, 1903 – April 5, 1977) was a Cuban politician. He served as the President of Cuba from 1948 until he was deposed by a military coup led by Fulgencio Batista on March 10, 1952, three months before new ele ...
and Teresa Casuso Morín. Shortly after midnight on November 25, 1956, in the Mexican port of Tuxpan, Veracruz, ''Granma'' was surreptitiously boarded by 82 members of the 26th of July movement including their leader, Fidel Castro, his brother,
Raúl Castro Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz (; ; born 3 June 1931) is a retired Cuban politician and general who served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the one-party communist state, from 2011 to 2021, succeed ...
,
Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...
, and
Camilo Cienfuegos Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán (; 6 February 1932 – 28 October 1959) was a Cuban revolutionary born in Havana. Along with Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Juan Almeida Bosque, and Raúl Castro, he was a member of the 1956 '' Granma'' expedition ...
. 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 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, municipality of Niquero, in modern Granma Province (after the vessel), formerly part of the larger
Oriente Province Oriente (, "East") was the easternmost province of Cuba until 1976. The term "Oriente" is still used to refer to the eastern part of the country, which currently is divided into five different provinces. Fidel and Raúl Castro were born in a ...
. ''Granma'' was piloted by Norberto Collado Abreu, a World War II Cuban Navy veteran and ally of Castro. The location was chosen to emulate the voyage of national hero
José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...
, who had landed in the same region 61 years earlier during the
wars War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
of independence from Spanish colonial rule.


Operation


Santiago de Cuba uprising

An uprising organized by the
26th of July movement The 26th of July Movement ( es, Movimiento 26 de Julio; M-26-7) was a Cuban vanguard revolutionary organization and later a political party led by Fidel Castro. The movement's name commemorates its 26 July 1953 attack on the army barracks on Sa ...
and planned by Haydée Santamaría, Celia Sánchez, and Frank País occurred in
Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains ...
. It was planned in occurrence with the landing of the Granma. The uprising was happened on November 30 but was quickly crushed by police. The Granma itself wouldn't arrive in Cuba until days later on December 2. It was made two days late due to bad weather on the voyage to Cuba.


Granma landing

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 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
Batista correctly predicted that the landing would take place, 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. Many casualties ensued, most of them during battle at further inland. The survivors continued to the foot of Pico Turquino in the
Sierra Maestra The Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. The range falls mainly within the Santiago de Cuba and in Granma Provinces. Some view it ...
to carry out guerilla war. 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, around 21 had survived. According to the most credible version, the survivors were Fidel, Raúl, Guevara, Armando Rodríguez, ,
Ramiro Valdés Ramiro is a Spanish and Portuguese name. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Ramiro I of Asturias (c. 790–850), king of Asturias * Ramiro II of León (c. 900–951), king of Leon * Ramiro III of León (961–985), king of Leon ...
, Universo Sánchez, Efigenio Ameijeiras, René Rodríguez,
Camilo Cienfuegos Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán (; 6 February 1932 – 28 October 1959) was a Cuban revolutionary born in Havana. Along with Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Juan Almeida Bosque, and Raúl Castro, he was a member of the 1956 '' Granma'' expedition ...
,
Juan Almeida Bosque Juan Almeida Bosque (February 17, 1927 – September 11, 2009) was a Cuban politician and one of the original commanders of the insurgent forces in the Cuban Revolution. After the rebels took power in 1959, he was a prominent figure in the C ...
, Calixto García, Calixto Morales, Reinaldo Benítez, Julio Díaz, Luis Crespo Cabrera, Rafael Chao, , José Morán, Carlos Bermúdez, and Fransisco González. All others had been either killed, captured, or left behind.


''Granma'' yacht expeditioners

The 82 expeditioners were: #
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
# # # José Smith Comas #
Juan Almeida Bosque Juan Almeida Bosque (February 17, 1927 – September 11, 2009) was a Cuban politician and one of the original commanders of the insurgent forces in the Cuban Revolution. After the rebels took power in 1959, he was a prominent figure in the C ...
#
Raúl Castro Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz (; ; born 3 June 1931) is a retired Cuban politician and general who served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the one-party communist state, from 2011 to 2021, succeed ...
# Pablo Díaz # Félix Elmuza # Armando Huau #
Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...
# Antonio López # Teniente Jesús Reyes # Cándido González # Onelio Pino # Roberto Roque # # Mario Hidalgo # César Gómez # Rolando Moya # Horacio Rodríguez # José Ponce Díaz # José Ramón Martínez # Fernando Sánchez-Amaya # Arturo Chaumont # Norberto Collado # # Julio Díaz # René Bedia # Evaristo Montes de Oca # Esteban Sotolongo # Andrés Luján # José Fuentes # Pablo Hurtado # Emilio Albentosa # Luis Crespo # Rafael Chao # Ernesto Fernández # Armando Mestre # Miguel Cabañas # Eduardo Reyes # Humberto Lamothe # Santiago Hirzel # Enrique Cuélez # # Manuel Echevarría # Fransisco González # Mario Fuentes # Noelio Capote # Raúl Suárez # Gabriel Gil # Luis Arcos # Alfonso Guillén Zelaya # Miguel Saavedra # Pedro Sotto # Arsenio García # Israel Cabrera # Carlos Bermúdez # Antonio Darío López # Oscar Rodríguez #
Camilo Cienfuegos Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán (; 6 February 1932 – 28 October 1959) was a Cuban revolutionary born in Havana. Along with Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Juan Almeida Bosque, and Raúl Castro, he was a member of the 1956 '' Granma'' expedition ...
# Gilberto García # René Reiné # # Norberto Godoy # Enrique Cámara # Raúl Díaz # Armando Rodríguez # Calixto García # Calixto Morales # Reinaldo Benítez # René Rodríguez # Jesús Gómez # Francisco Chicola # Universo Sánchez # Efigenio Ameijeiras #
Ramiro Valdés Ramiro is a Spanish and Portuguese name. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Ramiro I of Asturias (c. 790–850), king of Asturias * Ramiro II of León (c. 900–951), king of Leon * Ramiro III of León (961–985), king of Leon ...
# Tomás Royo # Arnaldo Pérez # # Rolando Santana # Ramón Mejias # José Morán


Legacy

Soon after 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 A helmsman or helm (sometimes driver) is a person who steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, other type of maritime vessel, or spacecraft. The rank and seniority of the helmsman may vary: on small vessels such as fishing vessels and yachts, the fu ...
for the 1956 voyage, received the job of guarding and preserving the yacht. Since 1976, the yacht has been on permanent display in a glass enclosure at the ''Granma'' Memorial adjacent to the Museum of the Revolution in
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
. A portion of old
Oriente Province Oriente (, "East") was the easternmost province of Cuba until 1976. The term "Oriente" is still used to refer to the eastern part of the country, which currently is divided into five different provinces. Fidel and Raúl Castro were born in a ...
, where the expedition made landfall, was renamed Granma Province in honor of the vessel.
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
has declared the Landing of the Granma National Park—established at the location (Playa Las Coloradas)—a
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
for its natural habitat. Cuba celebrates December 2 as the
Day of the Cuban Armed Forces The Day of the Cuban Armed Forces is a national holiday in Cuba celebrated annually on December 2 commemorating the landing of the Granma which brought the Castro brothers and their supporters from Mexico to Cuba to start their revolution against ...
, and a replica has also been paraded at state functions to commemorate the original voyage. In further tribute, the official newspaper of the
Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the c ...
of the
Cuban Communist Party The Communist Party of Cuba ( es, Partido Comunista de Cuba, PCC) is the sole ruling party of Cuba. It was founded on 3 October 1965 as the successor to the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution, which was in turn made up of the 2 ...
has been called '' Granma''. The name of the vessel became an icon for Cuban communism.


References


Works cited

* * *


External links


Wheeler Yachts Home Page









Che Describes his Departure to Cuba from Mexico Aboard the ''Granma''
{{Authority control Motor yachts Cuban Revolution Museum ships in Cuba Che Guevara