One Day in December: Celia Sánchez and the Cuban Revolution (20 page)

ON WEDNESDAY THE 13TH
, Fidel selected a soldier to carry a message to Celia in Manzanillo. He instructed the young man to tell her their present location, where they were going, and where he wanted her to bring Matthews; he had chosen a new location, a farm. Just as the young guerrilla, Juan Francisco Echevarria, left on his heady mission, another of Fidel’s guerrillas, José Moran, simply walked off without authorization. This bit of outrageous behavior was noted by both Che and Raúl, who silently put their feelings down in their respective diaries. The independent entries come to the same conclusion: Moran was a deserter. On the 13th, young Echevarria showed up at
Cinco Palmas
and told Mongo about the ambush, mentioning that he had a message from Fidel for Celia Sánchez. Felipe Guerra Matos, who was present, relates how he grabbed the young man, put him in his car and took off for Manzanillo. In that letter, Fidel explained exactly where he wanted to rendezvous with Matthews and assured Celia he’d make it there on the 17th. Historians rarely mention that Fidel, in doing this, really upped the ante; he asked Celia to arrange for all the directors of the 26th of July Movement to be there, too. She must have been taken aback, as assembling the full leadership in one place ran enormous risk. Moving a famous journalist into the area suddenly became just another one of her worries. She whipped into action, asking Rafael Sierra, director of the Manzanillo branch since Beto Pesant’s departure, to call a meeting for the next day. Frank sent Nicaragua (Carlos Iglesias, the young Santiago banker) to represent him. Celia, Enrique Escalona (the young Manzanillo
banker), Nicaragua, and Sierra (who worked in his parents’ dry goods store) decided that Matthews had been waiting in Havana long enough—since February 9—with no idea what was going on, so they’d get him to Fidel as soon as possible. D-Day was to be the 17th, the day Fidel promised to be at the new destination. Celia announced that Matthews should arrive just after midnight on the 16th, so he could interview Fidel as early as possible the following the day. Nicaragua got on a plane for Havana (to help Faustino coordinate Matthew’s movements), and Escalona drove to Santiago to fill Frank in on the details. After Frank heard the plans, he talked to Celia by phone (she was staying at the house of Dr. Rene Vallejo) and assured her that Rene Rodríguez was on his way to help her. Frank had sent Rene off so hurriedly that he didn’t have film in his camera. Frank confirmed that he’d bring film himself (sending Arturo Duque de Estrada—probably as he spoke—to a camera store for several rolls).

IN HAVANA, AS SOON AS DIRECTORS
Armando Hart and Haydée Santamaria found out that Fidel wanted all directors to assemble, they simply went to the airport and took the first plane to Santiago. On February 15, Vilma Espin drove the big three—Frank, Haydée, and Armando—over the mountain highway from Santiago to Manzanillo. Stopped at all checkpoints, they were completely conspicuous in the Red Threat, but to the soldiers they appeared to be two happy couples in a new red Dodge. The Red Threat rolled into Manzanillo in the afternoon, entering Celia’s jurisdiction. Felipe was on the job, acting on her behalf, and when he learned of their arrival, he picked up Frank. Next he got Celia from her hiding place (she’d moved to another house, a Moorish-style palace a stone’s throw from the police station) and transported them to Fidel’s new location.

Los Chorros
, the farm where the rendezvous was to take place, is located in the western foothills of the tallest mountains in the Sierra, and was owned by Epifánio Diaz. It turned out to be a very good place for rebel activities, and served the 26th of July Movement well for the rest of the war. The farmhouse had lots of windows, giving views in all directions; surrounding the house were coffee groves and pastures dotted with small stands of trees, good to camp in; best of all,
Los Chorros
was accessible by several
roads, a main highway and back routes via farm roads coming from different directions.

Celia got into the car carrying packages that contained, among other things, slices of ham, cigars, candy, and as a present for Fidel, a Schaeffer pen Elsa Castro had probably swiped from her father’s stationery store. Felipe had already loaded crates of bottled drinks into the trunk, along with a big box containing a wedding cake. This trip, carrying the bosses, Celia, and Frank, would be the first of many he’d have to make now that everyone was attending the interview. With the Rural Guard on the lookout, being stopped was inevitable, and his cover had to be credible. He and Celia had decided to say that one of Felipe’s sisters was getting married on his father’s farm (and point to the wedding cake as evidence). When Celia and Frank got out at
Los Chorros
, Felipe turned around immediately and headed back to Manzanillo.

ON THE SAME AFTERNOON
, around 5:30, Javier Pazos telephoned the Sevilla Biltmore Hotel to tell Herbert Matthews to be ready to leave that night. Nancie Matthews, who has written an account of this trip, says she had just started to wash her hair when the call came, but stopped, opting to wear a hat, so they could go out to dinner immediately. The couple strolled up the Paseo del Prado, Havana’s version of Barcelona’s Las Ramblas, crossed Parque Central, and entered the restaurant El Floridita, where they ordered daiquiris and lobster. After dinner they returned to their hotel to wait for the call. At 10:00 Javier phoned from the lobby. Checking out immediately, Matthews informed the desk clerk that he was going on a fishing trip, calling attention to his rugged-looking clothes. He and Nancie got into a new Plymouth. Javier Pasos introduced Faustino and the car’s driver and owner, Lilliam Mesa, as Luis and Marta. (Matthews wrote that he didn’t know their full names and didn’t want to.) The group took off into the night.

THAT NIGHT, FIDEL’S GUERRILLAS
rested and ate well. They waited until it was dark enough to travel their last twenty kilometers safely, on foot. Meanwhile, the Plymouth en route from Havana skimmed the Central Highway, Lilliam and Faustino singing international songs to entertain Nancie and Herbert Matthews,
stopping fairly often for “thimblefuls of Cuban coffee.” About halfway, at around 4:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 16, Nancie felt cold enough to mention it to the others. Approaching the city of Camagüey, about an hour later, they stopped for breakfast. Lilliam had had trouble finding a place that was open, and had driven past the same policeman three times. Nancie Matthews recalled thinking, she’s a charming girl, but a dangerous wife for a revolutionary. Finally Lilliam stopped and asked the policeman for directions to a good hotel. They ate fresh rolls, drank
café au lait
, warmed up a little, and were back on the road again by 6:00 a.m.

IN THE MOUNTAINS
, just as it got light, Fidel ordered his men, sleeping in an open pasture on Epifánio’s property, to get up and move out of sight. They pitched camp inside a stand of trees while Fidel, fully awake, and his bodyguard, Ciro Frias, headed downhill toward the house.

13. F
EBRUARY
16
AND
17, 1956
The Meeting in the Mountains

CELIA AND FRANK SLEPT AT THE FARMHOUSE
. Rising early and making their way up the mountain, guided by a couple of Epifanio’s sons, they ran into Fidel and Ciro in an open field. It was still so early in the day that mists hung in places. There is no record of what happened next. Fidel had never met Celia, so Frank may have performed the introductions. He hadn’t seen Fidel in four months, not since the previous October, in Mexico. Here, on this path, Fidel was finally face to face with Frank, his partner in revolution, and the lovely woman who had saved Fidel with her Farmers’ Militia.

We can only fill in the blanks about what happened that day. We know that they walked as they carried on their conversation, and hesitated at one point to consider whether they should go down to the farmhouse or stay where they were. They decided it would be better to speak privately. We know as well that the conversation between Celia and Fidel continued all through this day and into the night. In a very real sense, it went on the rest of their lives.

EPIFANIO’S BOYS AND FIDEL’S BODYGUARD
, Ciro, improvised a small campsite so that Celia, Frank, and Fidel could sit down. Celia probably assured Fidel that Matthews wouldn’t show up
until after midnight and he had the rest of the day to prepare. Later, when Celia and Frank were to go down to the farmhouse to wait for the directors, who would be arriving at various times, Fidel expressed his desire to take Celia up to the guerrilla camp, introduce her around. There she met Raúl, Almeida, Che, Camilo, and others. For Celia, it would be a reunion with Pesant, Fajardo, and Guillermo García, her old friend. After these introductions, the three went off on their own once again. This time they picnicked in a cane field. Celia must have sent one of Epifanio’s boys down to the farmhouse to get food. Enshrouded by tall plants, they sat in their war room, speaking quietly, but letting the rustle from the slightest wind blanket their voices. After lunch, Frank left them. Stepping out of the role of chaperone, he went back to the guerrilla camp. He wanted to spend time with the troops: asking questions and inspecting their weapons.

CELIA AND FIDEL TOOK A LONG
, meandering stroll. Now that they’d finally met, they had a lot to talk about, so many issues, some not so pleasant. She’d cut him loose, to fend for himself, when she called off the landing operation; besides reviewing events, situations, and decisions, they must have wanted to verify, clarify, re-trace, corroborate, compare, share, praise, or occasionally apologize. For years, they’d heard about each other. There were legends surrounding both. As they drifted through pastures, followed paths through woods, and walked along streams, they exchanged information. How long did it take to discover that they both liked to fish?

Celia was, for the first time, experiencing the full impact of Fidel’s imposing physicality: a young giant, taller than most Cubans and with a heavy dose of high energy. He had all the classic features of a Spaniard: flawless white skin, symmetrical features, two dark eyes aligned evenly over a long, straight nose. His hair had a life of its own, dark and glossy, and he was just beginning to grow a beard, a scraggly version of a Fu Manchu. Photographs of Fidel from this period radiate warmth and good humor in a manner that is compelling. Look closely and you’ll see a definite sweetness in his smile, a curiosity in his gaze. (Which is all to say, there was once a temperature in Fidel Castro that, over the last fifty years, has clearly plummeted.) And his immensely erect carriage is like that of a man wearing armor and carrying a sword: formal and somewhat elegant, Fidel is like a conquistador in work clothes.

This photograph was taken by Frank País on Epifánio Díaz’s farm, February 17th or 18th, 1957. This is the first picture of Fidel and Celia together. (
Courtesy of Oficina de Asuntos Históricos
)

Celia’s features also reflected her Spanish heritage: intensely black hair, sparkling black eyes, and a finely chiseled nose. But she was his opposite. For one thing, her skin was darker; her body wiry and svelte by comparison; her personality quiet and secretive while his was expansive and open. Neither would classify as a particularly domesticated species. If he was a lion, she was a panther.

When they spoke, it was in whispers. If she told him a funny story, he couldn’t have responded with a hearty laugh because they were in danger of being heard. Eutimio was lurking somewhere on the edge of their lives. Wherever he was, the army was assisting him, ready to pounce. This made the men watching over them, Epifanio’s sons and Fidel’s bodyguard, wary and on edge. The Eutimio problem has to have been high on Celia and Frank’s agenda.

In Guerra’s car, on the way to the farm, the two probably talked over the farmer-guide’s betrayal, and the problem of Fidel’s having trusted Eutimio so easily. I’m sure they concluded that they had to protect Fidel from himself. She would have provided the facts
she’d learned from the young soldier Fidel had sent to her, Juan Francisco Echevarria, to help Frank in making his assessment. It’s easy to forget that Frank, at the time, was the other director and could counter Fidel. But Frank was busy running the underground, the fight inside the cities. Had he told Celia, on their drive up, that she had to confront Fidel? She was the obvious candidate, and Frank’s pupil; her credentials were pretty good in the department of managing men, or at least her father. She knew how to confront as well as coddle him, assist but also draw the line.

So it was likely Celia’s first task to ask Fidel why he had picked Eutimio, and listen hard to his answer. As she walked at his side, did she think that she could be strong enough to talk Fidel out of things, particularly out of his flights of fancy?

Another issue at bay was her desire to join the guerrillas. She could be useful. Fidel was in her region, and she was the expert on this part of the Sierra, all completely new to him. In the mountains, moreover, she could demonstrate that she was up to living a soldier’s life. If she was breaking this news to Fidel, that she planned to join him, it was with Frank’s blessing. Her joining Fidel may have been Frank’s solution to the problem of Celia’s overexposure; in the Sierra, she’d be out of Manzanillo. More likely, she said nothing. If Fidel hadn’t wanted a woman on the
Granma
to help him get safely into harbor, how likely would he have been to want one in his column of soldiers? In this first meeting, I surmise that she held off mentioning that she wanted to join his band of soldiers, or at least didn’t express it straight out. She’d approach the subject, and make her case, by another means.