Granma is the
yachtA yacht is a high end recreational boat. It designates two rather different classes of watercraft, sailing and power boats. Yachts are different from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. It was not until the rise of the steamboat and other types of powerboat that sailing vessels in...
that was used to transport the fighters of the
Cuban RevolutionThe Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt that led to the overthrow of U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista of Cuba on January 1, 1959 by the 26th of July Movement led by Fidel Castro....
from
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
in 1956 for the purpose of overthrowing the regime of
Fulgencio BatistaFulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was a Cuban general, President, and U.S.-backed dictator. He served as the leader of Cuba from 1933-1944, and 1952-1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution.-Early life:...
. The 60-foot (18 m) diesel-powered
cabin cruiserA cabin cruiser is a type of power boat that provides accommodation for its crew and passengers inside the structure of the craft. A cabin cruiser usually ranges in size from 25 to 45 feet in length, with larger pleasure craft usually considered yachts. Many cabin cruisers can be recovered and...
was built in 1943 and designed to accommodate 12 people. It is said to have been named for the original owner's grandmother.
The yacht was purchased on 10 October 1956 for the amount of
MX$The peso is the currency of Mexico. The peso was the first currency in the world to use the "$" sign, which the United States dollar later adopted for its own use. The peso is the 12th most traded currency in the world and by far the most traded currency in Latin America and third most traded in...
50,000 (US$15,000) from the
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based
Schuylkill Products Company, Inc. by a Mexican citizen — said to be Mexico City gun dealer Antonio "The Friend" del Conde — secretly representing
Fidel CastroFidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician, one of the primary leaders of the Cuban Revolution, the Prime Minister of Cuba from February 1959 to December 1976, and then the President of the Council of State of Cuba until his resignation from the office in February 2008...
.
Granma is the
yachtA yacht is a high end recreational boat. It designates two rather different classes of watercraft, sailing and power boats. Yachts are different from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. It was not until the rise of the steamboat and other types of powerboat that sailing vessels in...
that was used to transport the fighters of the
Cuban RevolutionThe Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt that led to the overthrow of U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista of Cuba on January 1, 1959 by the 26th of July Movement led by Fidel Castro....
from
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
in 1956 for the purpose of overthrowing the regime of
Fulgencio BatistaFulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was a Cuban general, President, and U.S.-backed dictator. He served as the leader of Cuba from 1933-1944, and 1952-1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution.-Early life:...
. The 60-foot (18 m) diesel-powered
cabin cruiserA cabin cruiser is a type of power boat that provides accommodation for its crew and passengers inside the structure of the craft. A cabin cruiser usually ranges in size from 25 to 45 feet in length, with larger pleasure craft usually considered yachts. Many cabin cruisers can be recovered and...
was built in 1943 and designed to accommodate 12 people. It is said to have been named for the original owner's grandmother.
Role in the Cuban revolution
The yacht was purchased on 10 October 1956 for the amount of
MX$The peso is the currency of Mexico. The peso was the first currency in the world to use the "$" sign, which the United States dollar later adopted for its own use. The peso is the 12th most traded currency in the world and by far the most traded currency in Latin America and third most traded in...
50,000 (US$15,000) from the
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based
Schuylkill Products Company, Inc. by a Mexican citizen — said to be Mexico City gun dealer Antonio "The Friend" del Conde — secretly representing
Fidel CastroFidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician, one of the primary leaders of the Cuban Revolution, the Prime Minister of Cuba from February 1959 to December 1976, and then the President of the Council of State of Cuba until his resignation from the office in February 2008...
. Castro's
26th of July MovementThe 26th of July Movement was the revolutionary organization planned and led by Fidel Castro that in 1959 overthrew the Fulgencio Batista government in Cuba...
had attempted to purchase a
Catalina flying boatThe Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the US military and in the air forces and navies of many other nations...
or a US naval crash boat for the purpose of crossing the
Gulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United...
to Cuba, but had been thwarted by lack of funds. The money to purchase the
Granma had been raised in the U.S. state of
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
by former
President of Cuba Carlos Prío SocarrásCarlos Prío Socarrás was the 16th President of Cuba from 1948 until he was deposed by a military coup led by Fulgencio Batista on March 10, 1952, three months before new elections were to be held .- Governance :...
.
Shortly after midnight on 25 November 1956 in the
MexicanThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
port of Tuxpan, Veracruz, the
Granma was surreptitiously boarded by 82 members of the 26th of July movement including their leader,
Fidel CastroFidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician, one of the primary leaders of the Cuban Revolution, the Prime Minister of Cuba from February 1959 to December 1976, and then the President of the Council of State of Cuba until his resignation from the office in February 2008...
, his brother,
Raúl CastroBrigadier-General ' Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz is the President of the Cuban Council of State and the President of the Council of Ministers of Cuba...
,
Che GuevaraErnesto "Che" Guevara commonly known as Che Guevara, El Che, or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, military theorist, and major figure of the Cuban Revolution...
and
Camilo CienfuegosCamilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán was a Cuban revolutionary born in Lawton, Havana City. Raised in an anarchist family, he became a key figure of the Cuban Revolution, along with Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Raúl Castro and Huber Matos.-Political awakening:In 1940 Camilo enrolled in the "San Alejandro"...
. The group — who later came to be known collectively as
los expedicionarios del yate Granma — set out from Tuxpan at 1 a.m. and, after a series of vicissitudes and misadventures, including the near floundering of their heavily overladen and leaking craft, disembarked on the shores of what is now
Granma ProvinceGranma is one of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is Bayamo. Other towns include Manzanillo and Pilón.-History:...
on 2 December. The
Granma was piloted by
Norberto Collado AbreuNorberto Collado Abreu was the Cuban captain and helmsman of the yacht Granma, which ferried Fidel Castro and 81 supporters to Cuba from Tuxpan, Veracruz, Mexico, in 1956...
, a Cuban Navy veteran and ally of Castro. The location was chosen to emulate the voyage of national hero
José MartíJosé Julián Martí Pérez was a Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. In his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist...
, who had landed in the same region 61 years earlier during the wars of independence from Spanish colonial rule.
Landing
After the revolution
Soon after the revolutionary forces triumphed on 1 January 1959, the cabin cruiser was transferred to
Havana BayHavana is the capital city, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city is one of the 14 Cuban provinces. The city/province has 2.4 million inhabitants, and the urban area over 3.7 million, making Havana the largest city in both Cuba and the Caribbean region...
.
Norberto Collado AbreuNorberto Collado Abreu was the Cuban captain and helmsman of the yacht Granma, which ferried Fidel Castro and 81 supporters to Cuba from Tuxpan, Veracruz, Mexico, in 1956...
, who had served as main helmsman for the 1956 voyage, was given the responsibility of guarding and preserving the yacht.
Since 1976, the yacht has been on permanent display in a glass enclosure at the
Granma Memorial adjacent to the
Museum of the RevolutionThe Museum of the Revolution is a museum located in the Old Havana section of Havana, Cuba. The museum is housed in what was the Presidential Palace of all Cuban presidents from Mario García Menocal to Fulgencio Batista...
in
HavanaHavana is the capital city, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city is one of the 14 Cuban provinces. The city/province has 2.4 million inhabitants, and the urban area over 3.7 million, making Havana the largest city in both Cuba and the Caribbean region...
. A portion of old Oriente Province, where the expedition made landfall, was renamed
Granma ProvinceGranma is one of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is Bayamo. Other towns include Manzanillo and Pilón.-History:...
in honor of the vessel and the
Landing of the Granma National ParkDesembarco del Granma National Park is a national park in south-eastern Cuba, in what is now Granma Province. The park is named after the yacht in which Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Raúl Castro, and 79 of their supporters sailed from Mexico to Cuba in 1956 and incited the Cuban Revolution. ...
established at the location (Playa Las Coloradas) was declared a
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
by
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
for its natural habitat. Every year on 25 November a group of Cuban youths sets out from Tuxpan aboard a replica of the
Granma to re-trace hour by hour the voyage of the original
Granma to its landing spot at Playa Las Coloradas a week later.
The date 2 December is celebrated as the "Day of the Cuban Armed Forces", and the replica has also been paraded at state functions to commemorate the original voyage. (
See image) In further tribute, the official newspaper of the
Central CommitteeA central Committee is commonly the central executive unit of a Leninist or Communist party, whether ruling or non-ruling. In a Communist party, the Central Committee is made up of delegates elected at a Party Congress...
of the Cuban Communist Party has been called
GranmaGranma is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party.Its name comes from the yacht Granma that carried Fidel Castro and 81 other rebels to Cuba's shores in 1956 launching the Cuban Revolution.-Editions:...
. The name of this vessel became an icon for Cuban communism. Although the name is sometimes described as having been misspelled, the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary lists
granma as a variant of
grandma. Not every Cuban realizes that the name would translate as
abuela, although all can name the "mothership" of the revolution.
External links
¿Cómo se compró el Yate Granma?