Celia Sánchez Manduley: The Life and Legacy of a Cuban Revolutionary

By Tiffany A. Sippial

Book Overview

Celia S nchez Manduley (1920-1980) is famous for her role in the Cuban revolution. Clad in her military fatigues, this "first female guerrilla of the Sierra Maestra" is seen in many photographs alongside Fidel Castro. S nchez joined the movement in her early thirties, initially as an arms runner and later as a combatant. She was one of Castro's closest confidants, perhaps lover, and went on to serve as a high-ranking government official and international ambassador. Since her death, S nchez has been revered as a national icon, cultivated and guarded by the Cuban government. With almost unprecedented access to S nchez's papers, including a personal diary, and firsthand interviews with family members, Tiffany A. Sippial presents the first critical study of a notoriously private and self-abnegating woman who yet exists as an enduring symbol of revolutionary ideals.

Sippial reveals the scope and depth of S nchez's power and influence within the Cuban revolution, as well as her struggles with violence, her political development, and the sacrifices required by her status as a leader and "New Woman." Using the tools of feminist biography, cultural history, and the politics of memory, Sippial reveals how S nchez strategically crafted her own legacy within a history still dominated by bearded men in fatigues.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1469654601
• ISBN13: 9781469654607
• Release Date: January 2020
• Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.2"