The ''Tren Blindado'' ( ) is a national monument, memorial park, and museum of the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

, located in the city of Santa Clara, Cuba. It was created by the Cuban sculptor José Delarra on the site of and in memory of the capture of an armoured train on 29 December 1958, during the

Battle of Santa Clara The Battle of Santa Clara was a series of events in late December 1958 that led to the capture of the Cuban city of Santa Clara by rebel forces under the command of Che Guevara at the end of the Cuban Revolution. A decisive victory for the re ...

.Infos at planetware.com
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Overview

The memorial is located on the ''Avenida Liberación'' in the Bengochea ward, just after the depot of Santa Clara station, nearby a level crossing. It lies between the

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Camagüey Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 333,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province. It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by Sp ...

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

rail line and the Cubanicay river. It consists of an open sculpture park, an

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

dedicated to Che Guevara, and a monument representing the bulldozer used by Guevara and his soldiers to derail the train. One of the sculptures consists of a series of obelisks set at different angles to evoke an explosion. The derailed cars are used as the rooms of the museum. When a correspondent for '' Smithsonian'' visited the site in 2016, he reported that some cars still had visible blast marks.

Historical events

The capture of the train followed the conquest of the whole of Santa Clara. Due to this final victory, the city is still called the "city of the heroic guerrillas". After

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

captured Santa Clara,

Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player João Batista da Silva * Dave Bautista, Batista (wrestler) (Dave ...

wanted to bring about a turning point in the battle and the war. In an attempt to defeat the revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro, he sent an armored train from

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.diesel locomotives A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

and seventeen four-axle freight cars and U.S.-made personnel carriers. The train carried 373 armed soldiers, ammunition, and provisions for two months.Brief history and historical images of the ''Tren Blindado''
/ref> The next day it reached Santa Clara and stopped at the foot of the Loma del Capiro hill. Three days later eighteen guerrillas under the command of

Ernesto "Che" Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

attacked the train. When the officers tried to move the train to a better position, Guevara derailed the train by bulldozing 30 meters of track. After several hours of fierce combat, the guerrillas captured the weapons and ammunition. The officers finally surrendered in the evening. Many of the rebels befriended and fraternized with the soldiers they had been fighting only hours before.

Gallery

File:Cuba - Santa Clara - stèle du Che.JPG, The "Obelisk of Che Guevara" File:SantaClaraBataille 01.JPG, View of the memorial from the Havana-Santiago rail line File:Tren Blindado memorial in Santa Clara (Bulldozer).jpg, Monument of the bulldozer File:Tren blindado-Santa Clara (Cuba)-Che Guevara-Flikr-emeryjl-388610245 (CC-BY).jpg, Entrance to a car of the armored train

Media

The events surrounding the ''Tren Blindado'' have been depicted in at least two major-studio films: *''

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

'', a 1979 US drama film directed by

Richard Lester Richard Lester Liebman (born January 19, 1932) is an American retired film director, who spent the majority of his professional life in the United Kingdom. He is known for the fast-paced, flamboyant directing he brought to his comedy films, mo ...

and starring

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

.Infos at eisenbahn-im-film.de
/ref> *'' Che'' ('' Part 1: The Argentine''), a 2008 US/French/Spanish drama film directed by

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh ( ; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern Independent film, independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventiv ...

and starring

Benicio del Toro Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (; born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican actor. List of awards and nominations received by Benicio del Toro, His accolades include an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy ...

References

External links

{{authority control Monuments and memorials in Cuba Buildings and structures in Santa Clara, Cuba Cuban Revolution Che Guevara Railway museums in Cuba Museums in Cuba Armoured trains of Cuba Tourist attractions in Santa Clara, Cuba