Diary of a Combatant Read online

  From those far-off days in 1955, when Antonio Ñico López first told me about an Argentine doctor he had met in Guatemala, and whom he wanted to introduce to Fidel, I have loved and admired Che, and not for one second, even in the midst of those heated debates, did I stop feeling that way toward him. The history of other revolutions has been different, in so far as problems similar to our debates gave rise to conflicts that had fatal consequences. We Cubans have had the glory of having a revolution led by Fidel who had assimilated a democratic tradition in the manner of Martí: profound, radical and based on universal values.

  Dr. Armando Hart Dávalos

  1. The sierra (the mountains) and the llano (the plain) refer to the two wings of the revolutionary movement in Cuba: the guerrilla movement in the mountains and the underground struggle in the cities.

  2. Armando Hart was a young lawyer and a founding member of the July 26 Movement in Oriente province. He was an active participant in the underground struggle until he was captured in August 1958 and imprisoned on the infamous Isle of Pines. Released after the revolution in January 1959, he became the minister of education and played a key role in the extraordinarily successful 1961 literacy campaign. He was the target of some sharp criticism by Che in this diary, but after the revolution, the two developed a very close intellectual identification, as is evident in Che’s letter to Armando Hart published in Ernesto Che Guevara: Self-Portrait: A Photographic and Literary Memoir (Melbourne and New York: Ocean Press, 2004).

  3. Armando Hart Dávalos, Aldabonazo (Havana: Editorial Letras Cubanas), 1997.

  4. The year 1956 in which the Cubans initiated their struggle against the Batista dictatorship was also the year in which the monolithic socialist movement was rocked by Khrushchev’s revelations about Stalin at the 20th congress of the Soviet Communist Party. Here Armando Hart is referring to how these international debates in the communist movement impacted on the emerging Cuban revolution.

  5. Armando Hart Dávalos, Aldabonazo, pp. 151-53.

  6. René Ramos Latour.

  7. The Miami Pact.

  8. Brother of Eduardo Chibás, the founder of the Orthodox Party.

  9. “Jacinto” was Armando Hart’s nom de guerre.

  10. The exception was Carlos Franqui, who in those days presented himself as a Marxist.

  11. See Che’s diary entry for July 30, 1958.

  1956

  December 1956

  Che used roman numerals to indicate the consecutive order of the notebooks that make up his Diary of a Combatant. All footnotes are by the editors unless otherwise indicated.

  The diary starts on December 2, 1956, the date the Granma landed at Las Coloradas beach, in what was then Oriente province. The story of the arrival of the rebels in Cuba and the days that followed is recounted by Che in the first chapter of his Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War.

  Notebook I

  December 2

  Roque1 fell into the water.

  We came ashore in a mangrove swamp and lost all the heavy equipment. Eight men led by Juan Manuel Marcos got lost. We walked a little through the forest without a guide.

  3

  We walked slowly; reconnaissance flights follow each other continuously. We ate only one meal. That night Luis Crespo lost his way.

  4

  We started the march slowly. Luis Crespo comes back with the news that he found the lost group by himself. We wait for them and continue slowly toward Agua Fría [Agua Fina]2 where we ate. At night we set out and walked until 12:30. We stopped in a cane field for three hours. We ate a lot of sugar cane; we left traces, and walked until dawn.

  5

  We made camp in a wood at the edge of a cane field in a depression surrounded by hills. At 4:30 the enemy forces carried out a surprise attack. The general staff withdrew to the cane field and ordered a retreat in that direction. The withdrawal became a flight. The general staff abandoned a lot of equipment. I tried to save a box of bullets, and right then Arbentosa [Albentosa] was wounded in a burst of fire, I believe mortally, and I was also wounded slightly in the neck. The bullet struck the box first, threw me to the ground, and I lost consciousness for a couple of minutes. Pepe Ponce had a lung wound and Raúl Suárez was wounded in the hand. When we withdrew commander Pino stayed behind, shouting surrender, and Fuentes also remained with the most gravely wounded.

  Almeida, Ramiro Valdés, Benítez, Chao and I formed a group and left the cane field. We went into the forest and walked, listening to the sound of burning cane fields. We had to stop as we had no idea where we were going.

  6

  At dawn we resumed the march, coming to a large cave.3 We decided to spend the day there. We had one can of milk and approximately one liter of water. We heard the sounds of combat nearby. Planes were strafing. We left at night, guiding ourselves by the moon and the North Star until we lost sight of them, and then we slept.

  7

  We went into the forest heading east. We drank water from depressions in coral reefs. Benítez had accidentally spilled the milk the previous day. We did not eat anything.

  8

  We continued heading east, and at midday we saw the sea below some very high cliffs that had dense vegetation. It was night when we called a halt without having been able to reach the bottom.

  9

  We reached the seashore at midday after going through a very dense bramble thicket. It was impossible to go on by daylight due to the planes. We waited underneath some trees with a liter of water until dark. At nightfall we continued walking, coming upon prickly pear with fruit and we ate all that was there. We continued to advance and in a hut found three more compañeros who joined us: Pancho González, Cienfuegos and Hurtado.

  10

  When dawn came we went into the forest looking for water, but found very little. Those who had eaten crabs suffered a great deal from thirst.

  Once again we continued by night until we reached a bay that later we would learn was called Boca del Toro.4 We heard roosters crowing and waited for dawn.

  11

  Near us was a bohío [hut],5 and we deliberated on what we should do. Pancho González and I did not want to go there, Benítez and Cienfuegos did. It was decided to go in, but as Benítez was about to enter he saw a sailor and we pulled back, going around the hut to remain in a cave in the cliff. From there we watched what happened during the entire day, including the landing of troops: 17 men, from a small boat. We came upon a corn field and ate young ears until we had somewhat placated our hunger. At dawn we came upon a stream where we drank as much water as we wanted, filled the canteens and then went up a small hill to wait out the day.

  12

  At night we walked toward the north. We were about to go into another hut, but ahead of the others, I heard a toast “to my comrades in arms,” and we took off with renewed vigor. We found the stream again and continued on our way until 12:00, when we stopped, with people quite exhausted.

  13

  The whole day without food and little water. At dusk we head north toward a town that we would later learn was Pilón. At 1:00 a.m., against my advice, we went to a hut.6 They treated us very well and fed us; people got sick from eating so much. We spent the day indoors. Many Adventists7 came to see us, and at nightfall four of us set off for the house of one of them: Almeida, Pancho González, Chao and I. Benítez and Ramiro went to another house. Cienfuegos went to still another one. Hurtado was to have gone with him, but he decided to stay because he wasn’t feeling well. We learned that there are 16 dead.8 Eight of them at Boca del Toro, all murdered when they surrendered. The names are starting to come out: Chivás,9 Royo, Hirzel. We know of five compañeros who turned themselves in and are alive: Hidalgo, César Gómez, Fuentes (who had wanted to surrender at the beginning), Montes de Oca and Armando Rodríguez. We know groups of compañeros have passed by, heading toward the mountains. The weapons all remain at the house of A.G. [Alfredo González], the man who first welcomed us; the rifles and bullets are there. We all have pe
asants’ clothing. Almeida and I have pistols. We went to A.R.’s old house where we filled up with food.

  14

  The day passes without any developments, but at nightfall we heard the unpleasant news, without any more details, that the weapons had been captured along with Hurtado. The four of us left, guided by G.G. [Guillermo García] to the house of another peasant, and on the road we learned of new dead: Pino,10 Juan [José] Ramón, probably Enrique Cámara [Cueles]; of new arrests without deaths: Chaumont, Zelaya, Echevarría, Soto [Sotto]; and of people who are safe: Calixto García, Calixto Morales, Carlos Bermúdez, Morán, Guan [Huau], Arsenio García, Pablo the cook. There is no word about Fidel.

  15

  There were no developments during the day. We received a note from G.A.11 saying that he had located Fausto12 and that we were to stay put; there are indications that Alejandro13 will be located.

  16

  Alejandro’s presence is confirmed. The reunion will take place in the mountains. The day passes without major events.

  Two new prisoners: Zelaya, the Mexican, and Amaya.14 One more death is confirmed: Luis Arcos.

  17

  We head north guided by C.M.15 who hands us over to P.C.16 Ramiro and Cienfuegos are in bad shape due to diarrhea and stay behind; we continue to try to cross the highway but discover that soldiers are there and we have to spend the night in a cassava thicket. New, unconfirmed detentions: Roque, Márquez17 and one death: F. [Félix] Elmuza.

  18

  When we were about to set out, G.G. arrives with an order to wait so that we can go back to recover two rifles. Chao goes with him. There is nothing else new.

  19

  After waiting all day as usual, we left with R.P.M. [Ricardo Pérez Montano] guiding the six of us. Chao does not meet us at the indicated place because the guide says he has other orders. After crossing the highway and walking almost all night, we made camp in a small wood that is part of a farm that belongs to D.M. [Delio Mesa] with the message to go early for breakfast. C.M. stays with us to go and talk with Alejandro, whom he hadn’t yet met.

  20

  We get the disagreeable surprise that D.M. had not received any note and denied a relation with Crescencio.18 C.M. who was the one with the message continued on to Purial to communicate to Mongo19 the bad news. We remained in the woods until 5:00 p.m. when Almeida and Benítez went to get food, by force if necessary. It was not necessary, as the man had received the message and was prepared. Nevertheless, he did not want us anywhere nearby, so he quickly indicated where we should go. We lost our way several times but in the pre-dawn hours we found the house. We were told that C.M. had been there but that he was not trustworthy. Fidel delivered a philippic for our having left the rifles.20

  21

  We spent the day waiting for the arrival of some weapons. We are 15: Fidel, Faustino and Universo, one group; Raúl, Armando Rodríguez, Almejeiras [Ameijeiras], René, Ciro, another group; Almeida, Benítez, Cienfuegos, Ramiro, Pancho González and I. Chao has not returned from his mission. At this time, the following have weapons: Fidel, Universo, Faustino, Raúl, Ciro, Ameijeiras, and René have rifles with telescopic sights; Armando has a machine gun and Almeida a submachine gun. Chao has my pistol. New arrests: Montané, Gilberto. Two new deaths: Eduardo Reyes and Leyva21 in an ambush. Márquez’s death has almost been confirmed. I have an asthma attack and have a bad night. We are at the house of Mongo Pérez.

  22

  A day of almost complete inactivity. The weapons arrive. Everyone has weapons. There are two Johnsons, two Thompsons and rifles. Crescencio Pérez has my pistol and I have a poor rifle. The asthma attack subsides.

  Two new surrenders are confirmed: Cabrera and Godoy,22 and one death: Noelio Capote.

  23

  We remain in the same place. There is a combat simulation, I come running to bring the news. The men showed a good fighting spirit. People arrived from Manzanillo, bringing 300 .45-caliber bullets for the Thompsons and nine dynamite cartridges. We are almost completely equipped; we slept in the same place. The people from Manzanillo are a young woman called Eugenia23 and her husband. Faustino departed for Havana24 via Santiago, and he gave me his new rifle with a telescopic sight, a jewel. They brought sufficient medicines for small ailments, but there are no instruments.

  24

  We spent Christmas Eve at the same place, in a wait that I think may be futile. Another Johnson rifle has been found but it has not yet arrived at its destination. A newspaper published the news that an Argentine communist with a terrible record, who had been expelled from his country, came on the expedition. His last name, of course, is Guevara.

  25

  Finally, after a sumptuous pork banquet we set out for Los Negros. The march began slowly and we cut through barbed wire, thereby leaving a calling card. We carried out a mock seizure of a house for practice and while we were at it the owner Hermel [Hermes Cardero] showed up. In between the conversation and the coffee we lost two hours.

  Finally we decided to take the main road and we made more progress but the noise we made makes us obvious to any hut along the road and there were many. At dawn we reached our destination.

  26

  We spent the day next to a stream sleeping and resting; at night we went to an uninhabited ranch to sleep, and a commission arrived with someone called Ramón to bring us news. It was agreed to bring Calixto García and Carlos Bermúdez the following day so that they could join the guerrilla group and wait for the people from Manzanillo. It doesn’t seem right to me but Fidel insists on this. The guerrilla group has been constituted as follows: general staff: Fidel, Universo, Crescencio, his son Sergiro25 and I. Raúl’s platoon with Ramiro, Ciro, René, Calixto and Chao, and Almeida’s platoon with Ameijeiras, Benítez, Cienfuegos, Pancho González and Armando. The vanguard is a squadron composed of Armando with a machine gun and Ramiro and Calixto with Johnson rifles.

  27

  This day went by without any developments, save the roasting of a cow in the Argentine style that came out well but took a long time. During the night Calixto García and Carlos Bermúdez arrived, the latter with a leg in bad shape. He will be sent to Havana because he can’t engage in combat in that condition. In the pre-dawn hours Julio Díaz, Luis Crespo, and el Gallego Morán26 arrived, accompanied by three peasants who came to join the group. Their names are: Guillermo García, with the rank of lieutenant, Manuel Fajardo,27 Sergio Acuña, Ramón Torres and his brothers Juan and Ángel Marrero. Crescencio is in charge of all the peasants who have joined.

  28

  Nothing new today, only the arrival of Bohemia that has names of more people who have been presented […].28 In the afternoon, at the camp, one of the new people who had come, Manuel Fajardo, accidentally fired a shot while he was on guard duty. When we heard the shot, everyone loaded their weapons, and at that moment, Calixto García also fired his weapon unintentionally. But this didn’t go beyond giving everyone a fright.

  29

  Nothing new during the day, but at night the young woman from Manzanillo came back bringing four machine-gun clips, six hand grenades, 20 detonators, nine dynamite cartridges and the books that I had asked for: algebra, basic Cuban history and geography. That night a rainstorm soaked everyone. Almost no one slept, and we spent the night trying to build fires and roasting plantains.

  30

  We continued the march at midday through a patch of scrub surrounded by fog. We rested until nightfall and then we continued, reaching the hut of the Marrero family,29 whose three sons joined the revolution, where we ate. Then we went to a patch of scrub where we spent the night.

  31

  The last day of the year was spent instructing the new recruits, doing some reading and carrying out the small tasks of war. At night we slept in a hut where we celebrated New Year’s Eve sleeping in the shadows. Late that night Ramón Torres [Marrero] brought the news that a battalion had been mobilized and was heading toward the Sierra Maestra and that it would come via Estrada Palma, which is a
place that we would have to go near. A lot of equipment came. There is talk of buying hammocks for each individual.

  1. Roberto Roque Núñez was the helmsman of the cabin cruiser Granma that brought the rebels to Cuba from Mexico.

  2. The names of places and persons that Che wrote incorrectly have been corrected [in brackets] the first time they appear, and then have been corrected in all further instances.

  3. The story of the aftermath of the dispersal of the rebels at Alegría del Pío is narrated in the chapter “Adrift,” in Che’s Reminiscences…

  4. The reference is to the mouth of the Toro River.

  5. The bohío (hut) belonged to Manuel Fernández, a peasant known as Manolo Capitán, who had turned over nine members of the Granma expedition to Batista’s army, eight of whom were murdered.

  6. The home of the peasant Alfredo González was located on the crest of Regino Hill. He was a member of a group of Adventists in that area whose pastor, Argelio Rosabal, was committed to helping the rebels.

  7. This religious group was headed by Argelio Rosabal, who is sometimes referred to in Che’s diary as “A.R.”

  8. These were moments of uncertainty and inaccurate news about the members of the expedition who had been murdered or imprisoned. Later Che corrected some of these facts in his diary and others were explained in his Reminiscences…

  9. One of those murdered that day was Andés Luján Vázquez. Apparently this was confusion on Che’s part, since in the list of those who took part in the Granma expedition, there is no one with the last name of Chivás.

  10. Onelio Pino Izquierdo and Pedro Sotto Alba managed to escape.

  11. He should have written “G.G.” because the note was from Guillermo García.

  12. Fausto was Faustino Pérez’s nom de guerre.

  13. Alejandro was Fidel Castro’s nom de guerre.