INTRODUCTION

Fidel Castro, the maximum leader of the Cuban Revolution, is known throughout the world for his rebellious spirit, his clear and profound thinking, his vibrant use of language, his immense culture, his absolute sincerity and his unlimited generosity and solidarity. As Ernesto “Che” Guevara said, Fidel is “a leader of world stature at a height seldom known to history.”

Approaching the life and works of Fidel does not merely signify coming into contact with the most noble and revolutionary ideas and actions of the contemporary world, but also with moments in the history of Cuba and the Americas that, at times, would appear to have been taken from a fabulous adventure story: It is to know a man of principles, an exceptional man.

Fidel Castro: Birán to Cinco Palmas is a book of impassioned passages that brings us closer to the fertile life of the Cuban president and arouses our interest in further research on this man, as sensitive as he is a revolutionary. That is, in essence, the supreme objective of this work.

Fruit of meticulous bibliographical research and selection, this book compiles excerpts from interviews with the Commander in Chief of the Cuban Revolution and his closest comrades in study and in arms, which give the book an intimate and colloquial tone. Also included in its pages are excerpts from Fidel’s letters, speeches, indictments, defenses and charges, together with press notes, research material by eminent academics, and testimonies from collaborators, workers and campesinos whom he helped in difficult circumstances.

All the documented memoirs in the book have been published and their references are to be found at the end of each chapter, so that interested readers can have access to the sources and further explore the distinct stages or facets of Fidel’s life.

In order to promote understanding of the text and make it easier reading, short paragraphs have been inserted to connect the diverse material compiled.

On account of the book’s particular characteristics and because we are not in the presence of a complete or completed work, the historical events narrated do not always appear in rigorous chronological order, although they have been organized with a certain time orientation.

In such a context, this book, which covers the first three decades of Fidel’s life, begins with details of his birth on August 13, 1926, in Birán, an almost forgotten point in the geography of the former Oriente Province; moves through distinct facets related to his childhood and adolescence, studies and hazardous life as a revolutionary combatant; and concludes on December 5, 1956, the date of the reencounter with his brother Raúl in Cinco Palmas after the Alegría del Pío dispersal, where Fidel, optimistic and confident in the power of his ideas and Cuban dignity, confirmed that seven rifles were enough to win the Revolution.

So, enjoy your reading of these pages that lead us, in Fidel’s hand, along the glorious route from Birán to Cinco Palmas.