Castro's Quarters
In 1958 Fidel Castro and
his men encamped in the Sierra Maestra Mountains, in southwestern Cuba, several
hundred miles from Havana.
The Castro Brothers
Photojournalist Enrique
Meneses, right, spent four months with the unit led by young revolutionary
Fidel, left, and his brother Raul, center.
Shot Heard Round the World
Fidel Castro's
small band of rebels engaged in a series of small skirmishes with forces loyal
to Cuban President Fulgencio Batista. Here, Castro takes aim at a government
garrison near Pino del Agua. According to the photographer, Castro's shot
initiated combat.
Options
Castro's cadre prepares a letter of
surrender for the Pino del Agua garrison commander. Their goal was not to take
the fortress but to intercept the unit's supplies. The offer was rejected.
Tobacco Break
Castro smokes a cigar during a
lull in the fighting.
Jungle Outpost
It is estimated that
Castro's forces in early 1958 numbered no more than 200 men.
Commander
Castro lights the cigarette of a
young rebel with his own cigar.
Che Guevara
On Christmas Day in 1957,
Fidel's comrade-in-arms arrived from another encampment for a celebratory
dinner.
Morale
Castro chats with one of his men.
Prisoner
A Batista soldier is interrogated
by Che Guevara. Meneses says when these photographs were exhibited in Havana,
the former prisoner arrived in the uniform of a general, explaining that after
this photo was taken, he switched allegiances and joined Castro's movement.
Later, he fought with Cuban forces in Angola and Eritrea.
El
Lider
A few months after Meneses filed these photos, Batista
would flee Havana and Castro's forces would be left in control of the island
nation.
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