Celia Sánchez: The heart of the Cuban Revolution

Celia Sánchez Manduley was the heart and soul of the Cuban Revolution. “Fears are now history, and now the people have a real sense of their own feelings and the revolution is above all else,” she wrote in her letter to her father.

News Center- Women revolutionaries such as Agustina Castro, Haydée Santamaría Cuadrado, Mariela Castro, Mariana Grajales Cuello, Juanita Castro, Vilma Espín, Lina Ruz González and Celia Sánchez played important role in the Cuban Revolution. Celia Sánchez Manduley was born on May 9, 1920, in Media Luna, Cuba. She lost her mother Acacia Manduley Alsina early in her childhood. Her father was a doctor, Dr. Manuel Sánchez. After high school, she continuously helped with her father until she began to focus on the Cuban Revolution alongside Fidel Castro. Working with her father provided her with a cover and connections to become a discreet member of the 26th of July Movement.

After Fulgencio Batista became president for the second time in March 1952 after seizing power in a military coup, the revolution began in 1953 against the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Celia Sánchez joined the struggle against the Batista government and became the founder of the 26th of July Movement in Manzanillo. At first, she started as an arms runner but later began working as a combatant in the Cuban Revolution. She was considered to be the 'first female guerilla of the Sierra Maestra' since she was the first woman in the revolution to ever fire a weapon. She also became the first woman to join the guerilla and eventually become a part of the rebel army's general staff.

“Fears are now history”

Celia Sánchez wrote a letter to her father after joining the revolution. In her letter, she wrote, “Every day I see how much Cuba needed this revolution.  We conceived of revolutionary consciousness and we have attained it. You know this country has always been enamored of caudillos and this is how Fidel was made.  I was always afraid that he would be killed, and that besides losing a great asset, that people would abandon us in the Revolution; these fears are now history, and now the people have a real sense of their own feelings and the revolution is above all else.”

First female guerilla

Celia Sánchez worked alongside Frank Pais and Haydee Santamaria. Together with Frank País, she was one of the first women to assemble a combat squad during the revolution. In 1957, she became the first woman to join the guerrilla army and served as a messenger. She founded the Mariana Grajales Women's Platoon; the first women’s platoon consisted of 13 female fighters.

Everyone knew Fidel Castro and Che Guevara but few people knew Celia Sánchez. She worked for the Cuban Revolution. She joined the revolution against the Batista government after the military coup in March 1952. Norma, Lilian, Carmen, Caridad, and Aly were the pseudonyms used by Celia in the underground and guerrilla. As a member of the general staff of the Rebel Army, she supplied Che Guevara and other rebels with weapons, occasionally food and medical supplies. She organized and planned the landing of the Granma as well as supplying the army with reinforcements. She made the necessary arrangements throughout the southwest coast region of Cuba for the Granma landing and was responsible for organizing reinforcements once the revolutionaries landed.

Celia Sánchez is now known throughout the globe and even has a school named after her in Zimbabwe. Among the many responsibilities she fulfilled was Secretary of the Council of State, Member of Parliament, and member of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) and of the National Directorate of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC). She archived many documents, letters, and notes of the revolution, leading to the creation in 1964 of Oficina de Asuntos Históricos del Consejo de Estado, an institution for the preservation of historical documents.

Celia Sánchez died of lung cancer on 11 January 1980 and but her legacy is embedded in the Cuban national identity. She is known as the heart of the Cuban Revolution.

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