Remembering Che

by Aleida March

  Not everything went entirely smoothly in Tarará. There was a misunderstanding about my first pregnancy and miscarriage. I had gone to an event at the Capitolio, where I had a fall. That night I started to bleed and, as a result, I had to have an abortion the next day. I went to the hospital with Fernández Mell because Che, being such a well-known figure, felt he couldn’t take me, and he wanted to avoid the attention. Che was very upset about what had happened. He thought I had wanted an abortion because we weren’t yet married. I could not convince him that was not the case. I was not able to get pregnant again for another eight months, and he often joked that he, like the Shah of Iran, could not have children.

  By the end of April, there was great excitement throughout the island. For the first time in Cuban history, we would have a May Day celebration that was a true expression of the Cuban workers’ power. Che had recovered from his illness, so we were able to travel to Santiago de Cuba for the celebration in the company of Calixto García, Manuel Piñeiro and compañeros of the Revolutionary Directorate. I can still see the people marching with joy, for the first time in their lives envisaging a better future. The weapons carried by the soldiers were no longer used to repress the Cuban people. Instead the rebel soldiers were mixed in with the masses who carried tools to be used in the construction of a new society. It was the exuberant expression of a united people, willing to defend what they had won.

  On May 3 we traveled to Las Villas province, passing through Sancti Spiritus, where we met up with Camilo. That was where Che exchanged his beret for Camilo’s hat, an incident captured in a famous photograph. In Santa Clara, we met my family, whom I had not seen for some months. I stayed with them for a few days and then returned to Havana alone. A few weeks later, on May 29, Che came to tell me Hilda had finally signed the divorce papers. We could then commence the preparations for our wedding. He also officially informed my parents. We then moved to a new home, a rented farm house near Santiago de las Vegas, a pleasant location, slightly outside the city.

  I returned to Santa Clara so that a friend could make my wedding dress, a very simple dress. I would often stay at Lolita’s house when I traveled to Santa Clara so that my parent’s traditional attitude was not challenged. The wedding took place on June 2, 1959, at La Cabaña Fortress. We wanted an informal ceremony, and Hilda had requested that no media attend the wedding. But when Raúl Castro found out, he took it upon himself to organize a party for us. I got dressed at Lupe’s home, and the marriage ceremony took place at Alberto Castellanos’s home in the fortress. Everything was modest, with only a few people officially invited. We thought there would be no celebration or toast, and only a small group of people. But others conspired against this and organized a big party, attended by Raúl and his wife Vilma, Celia Sánchez and her sisters, my family and some friends from Santa Clara, as well as compañeros from Che’s column. Later on Camilo and Efigenio Ameijeiras (who was chief of police and who, incidentally, got a speeding ticket that night), arrived bringing others I didn’t really know. Everyone signed the guest book. Unfortunately, nobody had told Fidel, the celebration having been organized in semi-clandestine manner. He showed up complaining he hadn’t been invited. He signed the guest book, and then he left shortly afterwards. That is how our wedding took place. The next day it was front page news.

  The wedding was a natural step in our relationship, the culmination of the first stage in our life together—a brief, intense and extremely happy period. After the party, we returned to our home in Santiago de las Vegas for our honeymoon. Juan Almeida was waiting at the house to congratulate us, so we chatted with him for a while. Then, finally, we had time to ourselves. But it was very brief as early the next morning Che’s daughter, Hildita, arrived. Her mother had sent her as a wedding gift, maybe thinking we wouldn’t want to have Hildita living with us. But Che was always very happy to have his daughter with him. I remember he took some photos of Hildita, one with a cat we had at the time. This was the beginning of our married life.

  We had some special moments at the Tarará house, and we also experienced wonderful times in our home in Santiago de las Vegas. The revolution was advancing at lightning speed. We were getting better organized and uniting all the revolutionary forces. Raúl Castro and Che held regular meetings with members of the Popular Socialist Party (the former communist party). These meetings were held in secret. They discussed how to overcome the anticommunist sentiment still very much alive in Cuba at the time. I have to admit I was still influenced by my rural background, and I told Che I didn’t trust Aníbal Escalante6 and some of the others who came to our house. It seemed like a conspiracy within another larger conspiracy.

  I also met the Argentine Jorge Ricardo Masetti,7 who was encouraged by Che to form the news agency Prensa Latina. Che originally proposed that I become the head of the press agency. He said he would help me with the experience he had gained in Mexico and the Sierra Maestra. But I refused, thinking I was not ready for the role. Perhaps that is why I always admired Haydee Santamaría, who demonstrated not only intelligence but also a fine sensibility when she became head of the prestigious cultural institution, Casa de las Américas, despite her lack of formal education.

  During those months of hectic activity, I somehow managed to focus on my personal life: I finally learned to drive properly, I exercised and read a lot. I started to read Russian and Soviet literature, and my political views slowly began to “redden” under Che’s influence—he always had great powers of persuasion. The more I came to know him, the more I understood his total dedication. He tried to convince me about communism, patiently clearing up my misconceptions, without me feeling that he was forcing his views on me. We talked about all kinds of things, including some of the issues that arose during the revolutionary war such as the relative importance of the urban underground movement and the guerrilla struggle in the mountains.8

  Che had many responsibilities in the new revolutionary government. In May 1959, Fidel suggested Che travel to the countries comprising the Bandung Pact. This international alliance later formed the Movement of Nonaligned Countries. Fidel always placed great importance on our relationship with these countries, and their support for Cuba at the United Nations General Assembly was decisive. This also meant we dealt with representatives of those countries as equals. That trip led to Che becoming the principal representative of Cuba’s foreign policy.

  Nevertheless, the trip came at a difficult time for me. Che left Cuba on June 12—only 10 days after our wedding—and he didn’t return until September. Due to the length of time he would be away, I suggested I go along as his secretary. He strongly rejected this idea. This taught me a lot. He argued that, apart from being his secretary, I was also his wife, and it would be seen as a privilege if I were to go on the trip with him, when other wives or girlfriends were not able to. Before he left, we went to see Fidel, and he also tried to convince Che to take me along. But Che would not be moved. I started to cry, and this made him angry. It was a difficult time for him, too, and I was making it worse. While Che was away on that extended trip, Fidel suggested I join him in Morocco or Japan; but Che would still not change his mind. Instead, he sent me postcards from those faraway, exotic places, describing his experiences. The first one arrived from Japan:

  My darling,

  Today I write to you from Hiroshima, where the bomb was dropped. On the catafalque that you can see are the names of more than 78,000 people who died, the total number is estimated to be 180,000.

  It is good to visit this place so that we can fight for peace with more energy.

  Big hug,

  Che

  Towards the end of the trip he wrote from Morocco, this time in a lighter tone, expressing his eagerness to return home:

  Aleiducha,

  From the last leg of the journey I send you a faithful marital hug. I had hoped to remain faithful, even with my thoughts. But the local Moorish women here are truly stunning...

  Kisses,

  Che

>   Perhaps because he felt slightly guilty about this trip, Che always spoke about us taking a trip together to Mexico, so that I could see for myself that country and its wonderful Mayan and Aztec cultures. This was, of course, just a fantasy because we faced such a huge workload. Nevertheless, the idea of traveling together remained our fantasy.

  On his return from that first major overseas trip, Che quickly resumed his incredible workload. On August 7, 1959, he was designated head of the Department of Industry of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform (INRA). He asked me to come and work for him as his personal secretary. I was reluctant at first, but when he told me, with an ironic grin, he had been assigned a pretty secretary, I changed my mind. I reported for work at his office the very next morning.

  My future role had been decided in the first days of January when, on a trip around Havana, Raúl Castro asked Che what rank I would be honored with. Che bluntly replied, none, because I would be his wife. I accepted this, although some may not understand my position. I have never regretted the decision, which I think brought us closer together and helped reinforce our relationship, especially for Che, who had been alone for such a long time.

  We wanted to make a home with children. I didn’t care about appearing in photos with famous celebrities. I was happy in my anonymity, always taking pleasure just in being by Che’s side. Was this because I suspected we might not have much time together? I know how happy he was in those days, in the few moments in which he could escape into our private world. In a letter he wrote to me years later from Paris (in 1965) he commented: “I am definitely getting old. I am more in love with you each day and my home beckons me—the children and the little world that I can only sense rather than experience. Sometimes, I think this is dangerous, diverting me from my duty. Moreover, you are so essential to me and I am only a habit for you...”

  When I went to Che’s INRA office on that first day, despite what Che had told me, to my surprise I bumped into an extremely pretty girl, well-groomed according to the fashion of the time. I immediately asked who she was and what she was doing there. They explained she was the wife of Nuñez Jiménez (director of INRA) and he had assigned her to work as Che’s secretary. I requested she leave immediately because I was the only secretary Che needed. Everyone else in the office agreed and covered up the fact that I was responsible for the removal of the director’s wife.

  When Che arrived, he made a sarcastic comment about his new secretary having disappeared, and he reminded me he was not the head of INRA. It wasn’t until many years later, when we were in Tanzania, that I finally confessed my part in the secretary’s disappearance. By that time I no longer experienced such bouts of jealousy, and he would actually complain I was no longer as jealous as I had been! He didn’t realize that by then I was far more secure in our relationship.

  Despite my reputation as a jealous wife, in my role as his personal secretary I never read Che’s private letters; he knew this and trusted me completely. On one occasion, a compañero asked him why he had me as his secretary and why he would want to work with his wife. Che replied with good humor, and with no ill feeling, that the decision had been entirely his, and he was very happy to work with his wife.

  The work piled up, especially after the revolutionary government’s Law No. 851 (Article III) passed on June 6, 1959, giving INRA responsibility for the Department of Industry. This responsibility included the Cuban Institute of Oil and the administration of all expropriated companies.

  At this stage the first plans for industrialization were made, the main objective being to create industries that would save precious dollars by producing a range of urgently needed consumer goods that could substitute for imports.

  Che recognized the importance of nickel mining. Cuba has large reserves of this metal, and processing plants had been built and exploited by US companies in Oriente province. In order to operate the plants, we needed special technology that the Yankees refused to share with us after the plants were expropriated.

  Cuba not only needed skilled technicians, but also needed people to put their hearts and souls into meeting the challenge of industrialization, qualities Che had in abundance. He was greatly assisted by Demetrio Presilla, an engineer and the only technician who had stayed working at the Moa mine after the revolution. Given the importance of the mining industry, we traveled almost every weekend to that area in the far east of the island. The plant was eventually reopened and contributed significantly to the economic development of our country.

  Che made a point of meeting some of the nickel miners to learn first hand about their appalling exploitation. They had a poor diet and little education. Their grueling physical labor, and its contribution to the economy, was not recognized. Gradually measures were taken to humanize their work, and the miners gained a sense of dignity. They were immediately provided with better food in workers’ meal rooms and they were allocated better housing. For the first time in their lives they were treated like human beings. Che took a great interest in these previously neglected mining communities. He even took photos of one place called Imías.

  José Manuel Manresa worked at INRA’s Department of Industry as office manager, and El Patojo (Che’s Guatemalan friend) acted as his assistant. Other Latin Americans also collaborated with the department, including economists Juan Noyola, Carlos Romeo, Jaime Barrios, Álvaro Latoste, Raúl Maldonado and others, all of whom followed Che when he went to work at the National Bank. Most of them were advisers in the project that eventually became the Ministry of Industry. They also carried out tasks related to the nationalization of factories, the collection of taxes, assisting with queries and complaints, and dealing with large companies such as the sugar mills and tobacco manufacturers like Partagas.

  Aside from reopening the key mining complex at Moa, in the first year of the revolution Che was also involved in the construction of the “Camilo Cienfuegos” school complex in El Caney de las Mercedes. This work was carried out by Che’s former column. In the months of June and July, part of the column was sent to Oriente and another part went to Santa Clara.

  The construction of the school complex fulfilled one of Che’s dreams. He thoroughly enjoyed his visits there, laboring alongside his compañeros.

  When Che was named president of the National Bank on November 29, 1959, we moved house again, this time to Ciudad Libertad, formerly Batista’s military camp (Camp Columbia), which was later transformed into a large school campus. Raúl Castro and his wife, Vilma, and other compañeros also lived in Ciudad Libertad at the time.

  In the whirlwind of the first year of the revolution, Che played a part in the formation of the G-2 Cuban Intelligence Service, formed to guarantee the safety of the revolution. He was also in charge of the first delegations arriving from socialist countries, without ever neglecting his other multiple responsibilities.

  Sometimes Che had to resolve minor problems involving the members of his bodyguard, for example when his compañero Harry Villegas accidentally fired a shot killing another compañero when the bullet ricocheted off a wall. Che sent Villegas to La Cabaña to be detained and serve his sentence. This showed that, for Che, discipline came first, with no exemptions for anyone.

  Che’s work at the National Bank was very stressful, because it meant creating an entirely new kind of bank. This required a massive effort and substantial time. Che immediately proposed new measures to stop the flight of capital from the country, which included breaking ties with the International Monetary Fund to which Cuba belonged and was meant to contribute $25 million. The Economic and Social Development Bank was liquidated along with the National Finance Company and the Cuban Foreign Commerce Bank, institutions that represented a drain on national funds.

  An official of Cuba’s National Bank was ordered to withdraw Cuba’s gold deposits held in the United States. US banks in Cuba, including the Chase Manhattan Bank, the First National Bank of Boston and Citibank of New York, were all nationalized. A law was later passed nationalizing all Cuban an
d foreign banks, with the exception of Canadian banks. Another 44 banking enterprises were also nationalized along with their 325 offices and branches at 96 locations throughout the country. We purchased the two remaining Canadian banks, and a successful currency exchange occurred in 1961. This became possible when the first contracts were signed with the socialist countries in 1960. The famous bank notes with the simple signature “Che” were printed in Czechoslovakia.

  All of this activity emanated from the central office of the National Bank with its tiny staff that included José Manuel Manresa, a highly qualified bilingual secretary named Luisa (whose surname I forget) and me as personal secretary, along with a group of assistants. Some changes had to be made because the carpet in Che’s office aggravated his asthma. It was replaced with a linoleum floor. We enjoyed our time there, despite the enormous workload. We felt like a little family, eating breakfast and lunch together at the far end of the building, near Che’s office. We had no fixed routine: we might eat at 8:00 p.m. or 3:00 in the morning, when we would have a hot chocolate with toast. We always enjoyed the company of other Latin Americans, who would tell anecdotes about their countries. This helped us to get to know one another better. Among these visitors were Carlos Romeo, Jaime Barrios, Raúl Maldonado, José Santiestaben and Salvador Vilaseca, a Cuban who later became Che’s mathematics tutor and who remained with him until Che transferred to the Ministry of Industry.

  Among our memorable visitors was the Soviet delegation led by Eugenio Kosarev, a loyal supporter of Cuba, who became one of Che’s close friends. Somehow a typewriter with Russian characters materialized so that he could type up his reports. It might have been Graciela Rivas who found that typewriter—she was incredibly efficient. She was Manuel Aspuru San Pedro’s attorney and always did her best to assist us.