Vol. 76/No. 36      October 8, 2012

The following review of Soldier of the Cuban Revolution: From the Cane Fields of Oriente to General of the Revolutionary Armed Forces by Gen. Luis Alfonso Zayas, published by Pathfinder Press, appeared in the March 2012 issue of Cuba Sí, a French-language quarterly published in Belgium by the Friends of Cuba. Translation is by the Militant.

BY FREDDY TACK  
This biography of a Cuban revolutionary, Alfonso Zayas, is presented in the form of an interview by Mary-Alice Waters and Martín Koppel, the book’s editors, and is available in Spanish and English. The conversations took place in Cuba in June 2007, March 2009, and early 2011 (with the participation of Róger Calero, editor of the magazine the Militant). Harry Villegas (Pombo), vice president of the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution, also took part in the discussions and often prompted the conversation by encouraging Zayas, a shy man of rare modesty, to tell the story of his life.

After a brief exchange of views on the period before the revolution, the book is divided into three parts: the struggle against Batista, a soldier of the revolution, and defense of Angola’s sovereignty. This in itself is enough to summarize Zayas’ involvement in revolutionary struggles.

The story begins with the first underground actions in Puerto Padre, his hometown, and his joining the group of “marabuzaleros,” the first soldiers sent to the Sierra as reinforcements. This firsthand account enables us to understand better how young people of that time took up the fight against Batista, how much they admired Fidel and the July 26 Movement, and how they became part of the struggle. And how in and through the struggle they developed social and political consciousness.

Zayas joined Che’s column, which marched to Santa Clara and dealt the final blow to Batista’s army.

He then tells the story of his trajectory, including responsibility for La Cabaña prison and his work in Santa Clara and then the Isle of Pines, where he organized a program for reforestation and agricultural development. He went on to officer training school in the armed forces and held positions of military as well as party leadership responsibility in different parts of the country—a man always willing to go where circumstances dictate.

In 1975 he took part in his first mission in Angola, where he was to return three times as a senior officer.

Eventually he led the Youth Army of Labor and took on responsibilities as party secretary in Las Tunas.

In short, a life of richness and intensity hard to imagine, told with modesty and simplicity. An account of one of the many combatants who have dedicated their entire lives to their ideals and the development of the Cuban socialist system, both in the military and in everyday politics.
 
 
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