Haydée Santamaría Cuadrado
| Haydée Santamaría | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 30 December 1922 in Villa Clara, Cuba |
| Died | 28 July 1980 in Havana, 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, 1922 – Havana, July 28, 1980) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician, regarded as 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 along with Melba Hernández. She was a founding member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba. and one of the first women to join the PCC. She maintained a high position in its leadership throughout her life. Having participated in the attack on the Moncada Barracks, Haydée Santamaría is among a relatively small group of people who were involved in every phase of the Cuban Revolution, from its inception to its fruition.
Haydée Santamaría was born to Spanish immigrants Joaquina Cuadrado and Abel Benigno Santamaría on December 30, 1922, in Villa Clara, Cuba, on the Constancia sugar refinery. The eldest among five children, she and her siblings Aida, Abel, Aldo, and Ada were raised in a petite bourgeois family that emigrated from Galicia, Spain to Cuba in the area formerly known as Las Villas Province. She only attended school until the sixth grade, which was not uncommon due to poverty and customs regarding gender; however she repeated the sixth grade 3-4 times before leaving school, exhibiting an appreciation of reading and learning. In school, she was introduced to important writers, among them Jose Marti—an important figure of Cuban literature and a national symbol of independence.
After trying to become a nurse and after becoming a teacher for a short time, Haydée Santamaría was able to leave the trappings of her conservative family behind, joining her brother, Abel Santamaría, in Havana, Cuba in the early 1950’s. It was in Havana at this time that she started meeting Abel’s comrades, chief among them Fidel Castro. Haydée Santamaría and Melba Hernandez were the only two women to directly participate in the assault on the Moncada Barracks of July 26, 1953. Her roles during, leading up to, and following July 26, 1953 included acquiring and transporting weapons, being involved in the organization of the revolutionary organization of the July 26th Movement, as well as helping to assemble the urban uprising of November 30, 1956 in Santiago de Cuba alongside Frank Pais and Celia Sanchez.
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