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19531953 – 1 January 1959 · Havana

Cuban Revolution

The Granma memorial beside the Museum of the Revolution in Havana, the former presidential palace
Photo: LukaszKatlewa. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Fidel Castro's attack on the Moncada barracks in 1953 failed, but after landing from the yacht Granma in 1956 his guerrillas fought from the Sierra Maestra until the dictator Fulgencio Batista fled on New Year's Day 1959. The new government aligned with the Soviet Union and became a model for left-wing movements in Latin America and Africa.

Sites

  1. Site 1: Museum of the Revolution (former Presidential Palace)Batista's palace, attacked by students in 1957, with the Granma outside.Map ↗
  2. Site 2: Plaza de la RevoluciónSquare of mass rallies, with the Che Guevara facade.Map ↗
  3. Site 3: La Cabaña fortressFortress where Che Guevara set up headquarters in 1959.Map ↗

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Also in Havana

More from the Cold War

Read more: reference. Summary written by History-Tours.com.