Cuba: The Forgotten Revolution

Woman: SO THIS WAS A YOUNG PEOPLE'S REVOLUTION.

THIS WAS YOUNG PEOPLE NOT WANTING TO HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE REPRESSION.

ANYBODY WHO CHOOSES THIS ROAD IS ALSO WANTING TO BE A PART OF HISTORY, WANTING TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED FOR THE CONTRIBUTION.

I DON'T THINK ANYBODY WANTS TO BE... FORGOTTEN.

FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM COMES FROM THE ALLEN WHITEHILL CLOWES CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, PROMOTING AND PRESERVING THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES IN INDIANA.

AND FROM LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY, EMPOWERING STUDENTS THROUGH LEARNING AND SERVICE TO THEIR COMMUNITIES.

Reporter: "CUBA'S FIDEL CASTRO EMERGED TRIUMPHANT AFTER TWO YEARS OF GUERILLA WARFARE AGAINST THE BATISTA REGIME.

THE REVOLUTION THAT BEGAN WITH CASTRO, A FUGITIVE, PRACTICALLY ALONE ENDED WITH THE FLIGHT OF DICTATOR FULGENCIO BATISTA AND THE ENTRY INTO HAVANA OF REBEL FORCES, TO BE ACCLAIMED BY THE CITY."

Narrator: THIS NEWSREEL TELLS THE FAMILIAR STORY OF FIDEL CASTRO AND HIS BAND OF REBELS DEFEATING BATISTA'S ARMY IN THE MOUNTAINS OF CUBA.

"...MOVEMENT, NAMED FOR THE ANNIVERSARY OF HIS FIRST ATTACK ON THE REGIME IN 1953, HAVE GROWN VASTLY --" Narrator: BUT WHILE SOME SAY HISTORY IS WRITTEN BY WINNERS, IT IS ALSO WRITTEN BY THOSE WHO SURVIVE.

[SPEAKING SPANISH] Narrator: THERE ARE OTHER DIFFERENT STORIES.

ONE OF THESE STORIES IS TOLD IN THE SELDOM-SEEN CUBAN FILM ABOUT FRANK PAS, TITLED "DAVID."

Woman: THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM ABOUT THE CUBAN REVOLUTION HAS BEEN THAT THEY TOOK POWER BECAUSE A HANDFUL OF BEARDED GUYS AND SOME PEASANT SQUATTERS IN THE MOUNTAINS SINGLE-HANDEDLY DEFEATED A STANDING MILITARY, AND THUS OVERTHREW THE BATISTA DICTATORSHIP.

[GUNSHOTS] Man: THE REALITY WAS THAT IT WASN'T SIMPLY A GUERRILLA STRUGGLE.

WE CANNOT EXPLAIN HOW 300 MEN DEFEATED AN ARMY OF 20 TO 40,000.

IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.

Narrator: IN MANY WAYS, THERE WERE TWO REVOLUTIONS: FIDEL CASTRO'S IN THE MOUNTAINS, AND ANOTHER FOUGHT IN THE CITIES, SUCH AS HAVANA AND SANTIAGO DE CUBA.

FRANK PAS LED THE RESISTANCE IN SANTIAGO.

JOS ANTONIO ECHEVERRA LED STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAVANA.

EACH RIVALED CASTRO FOR POPULARITY AND POWER.

NEITHER SURVIVED TO TELL HIS STORY.

MARCH 10th, 1952.

Narrator: FUGENCIO BATISTA IS RUNNING THIRD IN THE PRESIDENTIAL POLLS, BUT HE SEIZES POWER IN A MILITARY COUP.

PEOPLE ARE OUTRAGED AND TAKE THEIR PROTESTS TO THE STREETS.

STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAVANA AND ELSEWHERE THROUGHOUT CUBA ARE AT THE FOREFRONT IN DEMONSTRATING AGAINST BATISTA'S UNDEMOCRATIC COUP.

Narrator: UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND LABOR GROUPS ENCOURAGED SHOPKEEPERS TO CLOSE THEIR STORES AND WORKERS TO LEAVE THEIR JOBS.

THEIR GOAL WAS TO FILL THE STREETS WITH DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST THE CORRUPT BATISTA REGIME.

Narrator: RESISTANCE GREW THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.

BATISTA SUSPENDED THE CONSTITUTION, USED HIS POLICE TO PUT DOWN DEMONSTRATIONS.

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAVANA, ONE MAN, JOS ANTONIO ECHEVERRA, BECAME THE UNDISPUTED LEADER OF THE LARGEST AND MOST ORGANIZED RESISTANCE.

[SPEAKING SPANISH] Narrator: OCTOBER 1st, 1955.

JOS ANTONIO ECHEVERRA SPEAKS TO A GATHERING OF STUDENTS... [SPEAKING SPANISH] ECHEVERRA WAS AN UNLIKELY REVOLUTIONARY.

HE STUDIED ARCHITECTURE AND HAD BEEN ELECTED STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT.

HE WOULD SOON BECOME A BRILLIANT AND EFFECTIVE LEADER OF A VIOLENT INSURGENCY.

Narrator: FIDEL CASTRO, A YOUNG LAWYER WITH A KNACK FOR POLITICS, HAD ALSO BEEN A STUDENT LEADER AT HAVANA UNIVERSITY.

HIS POLITICAL AMBITIONS WERE DASHED BY BATISTA'S COUP.

MANY CUBANS IN HAVANA KNEW WHO CASTRO WAS.

HE WOULD SOON BECOME A WELL- KNOWN NATIONAL FIGURE.

Narrator: ROUGHLY 500 MILES TO THE SOUTHEAST OF HAVANA IS THE SEAPORT CITY OF SANTIAGO.

WITH A TRADITION OF REVOLUTIONARY FERVOR, SANTIAGO WOULD BECOME A HOTBED OF THE REBELLION.

SANTIAGO IS ALSO THE BURIAL PLACE OF JOS MART, A 19th-CENTURY POET AND REVOLUTIONARY.

MART HELPED DRIVE THE SPANISH OUT OF CUBA.

HE WOULD AGAIN INSPIRE THE INSURRECTION AGAINST BATISTA.

Tom Gjelten: SANTIAGO HAD THIS TRADITION OF RESISTANCE AGAINST DICTATORSHIP, AGAINST TYRANNY.

WHEN THE MOVEMENT FOR INDEPENDENCE FROM SPAIN BROKE OUT IT BROKE OUT FIRST IN EASTERN CUBA.

SO THE CITY WAS KNOWN AS LA CIUDAD HEROICA, THE HEROIC CITY IN CUBA.

Narrator: SANTIAGO WAS ALSO THE BIRTHPLACE OF FRANK PAS.

ALMOST EVERYONE IN SANTIAGO KNEW OF THE PAS FAMILY.

THEIR OLDEST SON WAS FRANK.

THIS SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER WOULD BECOME AN UNDERGROUND LEADER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE BATISTA REGIME.

Narrator: FRANK AND HIS YOUNGER BROTHERS, AGUSTN AND JOSU, WERE RAISED BY THEIR WIDOWED MOTHER.

BIBLE STUDIES SHAPED FRANK'S CONSCIENCE, BUT JOS MART SHAPED HIS VISION.

HE BECAME AN INSPIRING AND BELOVED EDUCATOR WHO BELIEVED IN A DEMOCRATIC CUBA.

Narrator: AT JUST 18 YEARS OLD, FRANK PAS BEGAN TO ORGANIZE HIS OWN RESISTANCE TO BATISTA.

HE CREATED AN ORGANIZATION THAT DISTRIBUTED PROPAGANDA BUT THEY ALSO BOMBED GOVERNMENT TARGETS.

FRANK MAY HAVE BEEN KNOWN AS A MILD SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER, BUT HE HAD A MUCH TOUGHER SIDE.

Reporter: "JULY 26th, 1953.

THE FLEDGLING REVOLUTIONARY CASTRO SENDS SOME 85 POORLY-ARMED AND UNTRAINED MEN AGAINST MONCADA BARRACKS, A FORTIFIED GARRISON MANNED BY 1,000 TRAINED TROOPS.

THE RESULT IS A MASSACRE OF CASTRO'S MEN."

Paul Dosal: MONCADA WAS A FAILURE ON THE PART OF FIDEL CASTRO.

THE ATTACK ITSELF FAILED MISERABLY.

MANY OF THEM WERE CAPTURED AND SHOT ON THE SPOT ONCE CAPTURED, SOME POSSIBLY TORTURED BY BATISTA'S MEN.

FIDEL WAS LUCKY IN THAT HE WAS CAPTURED AND TURNED OVER TO THE POLICE STATION, NOT MONCADA.

HAD HE BEEN TAKEN TO MONCADA HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN EXECUTED ON THE SPOT LIKE SO MANY OTHERS OF HIS MEN, BUT HE WAS LUCKY.

Narrator: TO MANY IN CUBA, MONCADA BECAME AN IMPORTANT SYMBOL OF THE REVOLUTION.

AT HIS TRIAL, CASTRO CLAIMED THAT THE ATTACK WAS JUSTIFIED BECAUSE HE WAS FIGHTING AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT.

HE CLOSED HIS DEFENSE WITH A STATEMENT, "GO AHEAD, CONDEMN ME.

HISTORY WILL ABSOLVE ME!"

AND REALLY THE ATTACK ON MONCADA, WHILE IT IS SORT OF SILLY IN RETROSPECT TO EVEN ATTEMPT IT, IT DID GAIN FIDEL A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CREDIBILITY.

IT SHOWED THAT HE WAS REALLY WILLING TO RISK HIS LIFE IN AN ATTACK.

Narrator: MONCADA CHANGED CASTRO FROM AN AMBITIOUS POLITICIAN, INTO A COMMITTED REVOLUTIONARY.

THE ATTACK ALSO MOTIVATED OTHERS TO ACT, ONE OF WHOM WAS FRANK PAS.

Jos lvarez: FRANK'S REACTION WAS TO GO TO THE OUTSKIRTS OF SANTIAGO LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO HAD ESCAPED.

AND HE SAW A MAN, A YOUNG GUY, HANGING FROM A TREE, YOU KNOW, SWINGING WITH THE WIND.

HE WRITES ONE OF HIS FRIENDS AND SAID, "I WAS NOT INVOLVED, BUT I WISH I HAD."

FROM THAT DAY ON, HE SPOKE VERY OFTEN ABOUT THE ATTACK.

HE THOUGHT THAT THE ATTACKERS HAD SHOWN THE CUBAN PEOPLE THAT BATISTA COULD BE FOUGHT, YOU KNOW, WITH GUNS, NOT WITH PROPAGANDA OR WORDS.

Narrator: OCTOBER 1st, 1955.

Narator: JOS ANTONIO ECHEVERRA SPEAKS TO A GATHERING OF STUDENTS AND WAR VETERANS.

Narrator: ECHEVERRA AND HIS STUDENT FOLLOWERS MOVED BEYOND SPEECHES AND SIMPLE SKIRMISHES WITH BATISTA'S POLICE.

THEY WOULD SOON EMPLOY FAR MORE VIOLENT METHODS.

Narrator: ECHEVERRA AND OTHERS FORMED THE DIRECTORIO REVOLUCIONARIO, THE D.R.

UNDER THIS NEW BANNER, THEY CARRIED OUT BOMBINGS AND POLITICAL ASSASSINATIONS.

THEIR GOAL WAS TO ELIMINATE CORRUPT GOVERNMENT LEADERS ONCE AND FOR ALL.

Narrator: ECHEVERRA'S PATH WAS SET.

HE AND THE DIRECTORIO REVOLUCIONARIO WERE NOW THE NUMBER ONE TARGETS OF BATISTA'S POLICE.

Narrator: FRANK PAS WAS A PROLIFIC WRITER AS WELL AS A BELOVED TEACHER.

FRANK PAS, SINCE VERY EARLY IN HIS LIFE, SHOWED SIGNS OF BEING A VERY PATRIOTIC PERSON.

HE KNEW CUBAN HISTORY VERY WELL, AND HE WAS VERY PROUD OF CUBAN PATRIOTS.

HE LOVED CUBA.

Woman: WHEN I THINK ABOUT HOW YOUNG THESE PEOPLE WERE, IT'S PRETTY STUNNING.

MANY OF THE PEOPLE WERE TEENAGERS WHO WERE -- WHO THREW THEMSELVES INTO THIS AND GOT KILLED.

THE YOUTH IS A HUGE PIECE OF IT.

Narrator: RELIGION WAS ALSO IMPORTANT.

MANY CUBANS WERE DEEPLY RELIGIOUS.

JUSTICE, IDEALISM, AND PARTICULARLY SACRIFICE FORMED THE CORE OF THEIR BELIEF.

Narrator: THE LOVE OF COUNTRY FORCED COMPROMISES THAT WENT AGAINST RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES.

ECHEVERRA REMAINED SILENT ABOUT HOW HE RECONCILED FAITH WITH HIS INCREASINGLY VIOLENT PATH.

BUT PAS, WHO CARRIED A BIBLE EVERYWHERE HE WENT, WAS PLAGUED WITH REAL DOUBTS.

Man: HE HAD TO KILL A MAN.

THE POLICE CAME TO SHOOT SOME OF HIS FRIENDS, AND HE HAD TO SHOOT HIM.

Jos lvarez: HIS MOTHER CALLED HIM INTO HIS BEDROOM AND START, YOU KNOW, "YOU DON'T DO THAT."

YOU KNOW, "THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT TELLS YOU YOU SHALL NOT KILL."

Jos lvarez: AND THERE ARE SOME LETTERS THAT HE WROTE TO SOME FRIENDS, YOU KNOW, HE IS STRUGGLING WITH HIS FAITH AND WHAT HE IS DOING.

AND HE EVEN WROTE A POEM... Jos lvarez: I HAVE THE FEELING FROM WHAT I HAVE READ THAT HE WAS CONVINCED THAT HIS MOTHER WAS RIGHT, BUT THEN AT THE END HE SAID, "OKAY, MOM, BUT REMEMBER THAT WE ARE FIGHTING EVIL."

I THINK HE WAS VERY CONSCIOUS THAT HE NEEDED TO DO WHAT HE WAS DOING.

Narrator: FIDEL CASTRO AND THE MONCADA SURVIVORS WERE SERVING OUT THEIR SENTENCES IN THE ISLE OF PINES PRISON.

Paul Dosal: WHILE IN PRISON, HE MANAGED TO PROMOTE HIS CAUSE LARGELY BY SMUGGLING OUT OF PRISON THE DRAFT OF WHAT BECAME A BOOK PUBLISHED IN CUBA UNDER THE TITLE "HISTORY WILL ABSOLVE ME."

HE WAS BY NO MEANS THE LEADING OPPOSITION FIGURE AT THE TIME.

THERE WERE MANY OTHERS VYING FOR THAT ROLE.

INDEED, IT'S THE GENERAL POLITICAL OPPOSITION THAT WILL LEAD BATISTA TO ISSUE A GENERAL AMNESTY IN MAY 1955 THAT ALLOWS FIDEL TO BE RELEASED FROM PRISON ALONG WITH HIS COMRADES-IN-ARM.

Narrator: 1955 WAS AN IMPORTANT YEAR IN THE REVOLUTION.

FREED FROM PRISON, CASTRO CREATED THE 26th OF JULY MOVEMENT, NAMED FOR THE DATE OF THE MONCADA ASSAULT.

HE TRAVELED TO MEXICO WHERE HE TRAINED A SMALL REBEL ARMY.

AND WHILE THERE, HE FOUND A NEW CONFEDERATE, ERNESTO "CHE" GUEVARA.

IN SANTIAGO, PAS AND HIS FOLLOWERS CONSIDER JOINING CASTRO.

IN HAVANA, ECHEVERRA CONTINUED TO GROW HIS ORGANIZATION, THE DIRECTORIO REVOLUCIONARIO.

Jos lvarez: FIDEL SENT LESTER RODRIGUEZ AND MARIA ANTONIA FIGUEROA TO RECRUIT FRANK.

FRANK SAID, "I ADMIRE THE MONCADA ATTACK, BUT I HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT."

Narrator: IN LATE 1955, PAS FINALLY DECIDED TO MERGE HIS GROUP WITH CASTRO'S M-26-7 MOVEMENT.

Jos lvarez:: THIS IS MY OWN OPINION - FRANK WAS CONVINCED THAT FIDEL HAD BECOME AN EXTREMELY POPULAR PERSON.

FIDEL CONTRIBUTED THE NAME OF THE MONCADA ATTACK AND HIS NAME WITH ALL HIS CHARISMA AND THE EXTREME POPULARITY THAT HE WAS ENJOYING AMONG THE YOUNG REVOLUTIONARIES IN CUBA.

Narrator: IN EARLY 1956, PAS TRAVELED TO MEXICO TO MEET CASTRO.

CASTRO, IMPRESSED BY PAS, WELCOMED HIM AS THE NEW NATIONAL CHIEF OF ACTION FOR THE JULY 26th MOVEMENT.

TOGETHER, THEY DEVELOPED A BOLD PLAN.

CASTRO WOULD RETURN TO CUBA BY SEA.

PAS WOULD ORGANIZE A DANGEROUS AND VIOLENT UPRISING IN SANTIAGO, ALL UNDER THE BANNER OF THE 26th OF JULY MOVEMENT.

FRANK SENT A POSTCARD TO HIS FIANCE... "I GOT EVERYTHING I WANTED, I EVEN GOT A PROMOTION."

JOS ECHEVERRA ALSO TRAVELED TO MEXICO TO MEET WITH CASTRO.

THE TONE WAS VERY DIFFERENT.

Paul Dosal: AND THESE WERE TWO YOUNG REVOLUTIONARY LEADERS, RIVALS FOR POWER, REFLECTING, HOWEVER, DIFFERENT IDEOLOGIES AND STRATEGIES.

IT SEEMED AS IF THE TWO GROUPS HAD NEGOTIATED AT LEAST AN AGREEMENT TO WORK TOGETHER TOWARD A COMMON OBJECTIVE.

Narrator: ECHEVERRA RETURNED TO MEXICO FOR A SECOND ROUND OF TALKS.

THOUGH THE DIRECTORIO REVOLUTIONARIO WAS NOT READY TO MERGE WITH THE JULY 26th MOVEMENT, ECHEVERRA DID SIGN AN AGREEMENT TO FIGHT BATISTA AS ALLIES.

BUT ECHEVERRA WAS NOT READY TO MERGE THE D.R.

WITH THE M-26-7, AS PAS HAD DONE.

Paul Dosal: WE'RE NOT SURE, REALLY, ABOUT THE EXTENT OF THE COORDINATION.

WOULD THEY COORDINATE MILITARY AFFAIRS?

ON PAPER, THEY MIGHT HAVE AGREED TO SUCH A THING.

IN PRACTICE, HOWEVER, I DON'T THINK THERE WAS EVER THE LEVEL OF TRUST BETWEEN THE TWO MEN, AND THE RIVALRIES BETWEEN THEM WOULD ONLY WORSEN.

Paul Dosal: THESE GROUPS OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FEW YEARS ARE GOING TO STRUGGLE AGAINST BATISTA, BUT THEY'LL ALSO STRUGGLE AGAINST EACH OTHER.

THE GROUP THAT WINS OUT WITHIN CUBA, WITHIN THE INSURRECTIONARY GROUPS, THEN WILL COME TO DIRECT THE REVOLUTION ONCE THEY GET BATISTA OUT OF POWER.

[SINGING IN SPANISH] Woman: HAVANA WAS A BUSTLING, THRIVING, MIDDLE-CLASS CITY.

PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST VIBRANT CITIES IN LATIN AMERICA IN THE 1950s.

[CONTINUES SINGING IN SPANISH] Rosa Lowinger: JUST IMAGINE, IF YOU WILL, NEW YORK, IMAGINE PARIS.

IMAGINE THAT TYPE OF REALLY VIBRANT ENERGY WITH A LOT OF INFLUX OF FOREIGNERS BUT YET WITH A VERY DEFINED IDEA OF WHAT CUBAN-NESS WAS.

HAVANA WAS PRETTY MUCH THE CAPITAL OF LATIN AMERICA.

Narrator: BUT HAVANA WAS A NIGHTMARE OF PROTESTS, BOMBINGS, AND ASSASSINATIONS.

A ONCE-COMPLACENT MIDDLE CLASS FINANCED MANY OF THE DIRECTORIO'S ACTIVITIES.

RATHER THAN ATTEND CLASSES, UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, SOME STILL IN THEIR TEENS, NOW PLANTED THE BOMBS AND FIRED THE GUNS.

Narrator: THE ECHEVERRA FAMILY LIVED IN AN UPPER-MIDDLE-CLASS SECTION OF CARDENAS.

THEY ENJOYED ALL THE PRIVILEGES OF CUBAN SOCIETY.

Narrator: JOS HAD EVERYTHING GOING FOR HIM.

HE WAS BRIGHT, CHARMING, AND FUN-LOVING.

AT HAVANA UNIVERSITY, HE PLAYED TENNIS AND SERVED AS STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT.

HIS LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND POLITICAL AMBITIONS WERE OBVIOUS.

BUT BY THE TIME ECHEVERRA HELPED FORM THE DIRECTORIO REVOLUTIONARIO IN LATE 1955, HE WAS ALREADY WELL-KNOWN TO THE POLICE.

THE D.R.

's TACTIC OF ASSASSINATING POLITICAL FIGURES FORCED THEM INTO THE UNDERGROUND.

PEOPLE LIKE ECHEVERRA MOVED OFTEN, FROM SAFE HOUSE TO SAFE HOUSE, IN ORDER TO AVOID ARREST, TORTURE, OR DEATH AT THE HANDS OF THE DICTATOR'S POLICE.

AT THE HANDS OF THE DICTATOR'S POLICE.

AT THE HANDS OF THE DICTATOR'S POLICE.

AT THE HANDS OF THE DICTATOR'S POLICE.

AT THE HANDS OF THE DICTATOR'S POLICE.

Narrator: THE INSURGENCY WAS COMPLICATED.

MANY ORGANIZATIONS COMPETED FOR RECRUITS, MONEY, AND MOST OF ALL, WEAPONS.

Julia Sweig: IN THE URBAN UNDERGROUND YOU HAD REALLY A MIX.

I MEAN, YOU HAD SOME VERY, VERY WEALTHY PEOPLE THAT WERE SUPPORTERS OF THE URBAN UNDERGROUND.

SOME OF THE LEADERS OF THE URBAN UNDERGROUND WERE LAWYERS AND PROFESSORS WHO WERE, YOU KNOW, YOUNG, ASPIRING PROFESSIONALS.

IT'S MUCH MORE OF A MULTI-CLASS ENDEAVOR.

Narrator: NO MATTER THEIR SOCIAL OR ECONOMIC POSITION, MANY CUBANS DESPISED BATISTA AND HIS GOVERNMENT.

Tom Gjelten: WHAT I FOUND THAT REALLY ALIENATED THE CUBAN PEOPLE FROM BATISTA, AND THAT FUELED THE REVOLUTION, WAS THE ALMOST UNSPEAKABLE BRUTALITY OF BATISTA'S POLICE FORCES.

SO MANY CUBANS WERE KILLED BY BATISTA'S SECRET POLICE AND IN SUCH A BLOODY FASHION.

THERE WAS SO MUCH TORTURE.

BATISTA WAS A GENUINELY HATED FIGURE.

Narrator: NOVEMBER 30th, 1956, THE DAY THAT ALL CUBANS WOULD RISE AND BATISTA WOULD BE GONE FOREVER.

THAT, AT LEAST, WAS THE PLAN FIDEL CASTRO AND FRANK PAS HAD WORKED OUT IN MEXICO.

FIDEL'S STRATEGY IN LATE 1956 BORROWS HEAVILY FROM THAT OF JOS MART.

Narrator: JOS MART LED THE REVOLT AGAINST THE SPANISH COLONIALISTS FOR CUBAN INDEPENDENCE IN THE 19th CENTURY.

MART LANDED BY BOAT TO SPARK HIS REVOLUTION.

INSPIRED BY MART, FIDEL CHOSE THE SYMBOLIC GESTURE OF AN "INVASION" BY BOAT FROM MEXICO TO START HIS WAR AGAINST BATISTA.

Narrator: WHILE FIDEL AND HIS COMRADES LANDED ON THE COAST, PAS WOULD LEAD AN UPRISING IN SANTIAGO, THUS CUTTING OFF ORIENTE PROVINCE FROM THE REST OF CUBA.

PAS AND HIS MEN REHEARSED THEIR PARTS FOR WEEKS.

THEY EXPECTED TO TAKE CUBA BACK FROM BATISTA.

Narrator: PEPITO TEY WAS SECOND IN COMMAND TO FRANK PAS.

TEY WAS FRANK'S FRIEND FROM TEACHER SCHOOL.

HE WAS TO COORDINATE SIMULTANEOUS ATTACKS ON SEVERAL LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT SANTIAGO.

Narrator: THE INSURGENTS WERE EAGER, BUT INEXPERIENCED.

THEIR WEAPONS CONSISTED OF HUNTING RIFLES AND PISTOLS.

THEIR GRENADES WERE POORLY-MADE AND INEFFECTIVE.

[GUNFIRE] Narrator: PAS AND CASTRO'S PLAN REQUIRED STRICT COORDINATION.

Paul Dosal: THE GRAMMA WAS A YACHT THAT CASTRO PURCHASED FROM AN AMERICAN OWNER THAT WAS DESIGNED TO HOLD NO MORE THAN 20, 25 PEOPLE.

IT'S A PLEASURE CRAFT.

IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT HE COULD LOAD UP HIS REBEL ARMY ALONG WITH ALL THEIR SUPPLIES, AMMUNITION, AND ARMS, AND GET THEM TO CUBA UNDETECTED.

Narrator: BUT THEY WERE DETECTED, AND THEY WERE LATE.

CASTRO AND HIS GUERILLAS HAD MISJUDGED HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE TO GET FROM MEXICO TO SOUTHEAST CUBA.

WORSE, THEY LANDED IN THE WRONG PLACE TOO LATE TO COORDINATE WITH THE SANTIAGO UPRISING.

CASTRO AND PAS THOUGHT ORDINARY CUBANS WOULD JOIN THE BATTLE.

BUT THE PEOPLE DID NOT STIR, AND BATISTA'S POLICE RETALIATED WITH BRUTAL FORCE.

TWO DAYS LATER, CASTRO AND HIS GUERILLAS CAME UNDER ATTACK.

MANY OF THE REBELS WERE SLAUGHTERED.

ONLY A HANDFUL ESCAPED WITH THEIR LIVES INTO THE SAFETY OF THE SIERRA MAESTRA MOUNTAINS.

[GUNFIRE] Narrator: IN SANTIAGO, PAS AND HIS COMBATANTS FOUGHT IN BLOODY CONFRONTATIONS.

HELP FROM CASTRO NEVER CAME.

Narrator: AMONG THE DEAD WAS PEPITO TEY.

HIS DEATH WAS A TREMENDOUS BLOW TO THE ORGANIZATION AND TO PAS PERSONALLY.

Narrator: WITH TOO MANY ELEMENTS WORKING AGAINST HIM, FRANK PAS CALLED OFF THE FIGHT.

THE UPRISING HAD FAILED.

ON PAPER, IT'S A STRATEGY THAT COULD HAVE WORKED, BUT IT REQUIRED SOME LOGISTICS AND COMMUNICATION THAT THEY WEREN'T CAPABLE OF.

IF ALL OF THE FORCES WERE COORDINATING THEIR ACTIVITIES AND THEY WERE IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION, IT MIGHT HAVE WORKED.

Narrator: ALTHOUGH THE UPRISING WAS CRUSHED, CASTRO WAS NOW BACK IN CUBA AND SAFE IN THE SIERRA MAESTRA MOUNTAINS.

THE SURVIVORS FROM THE GRAMMA LANDING COULD REGROUP.

AT THE SAME TIME, PAS AND CELIA SANCHEZ WORKED TO BUILD A RELIABLE SUPPLY LINE THAT SENT FOOD, PERSONNEL, AND WEAPONS TO CASTRO AND HIS MEN.

BATISTA'S PROPAGANDA PROCLAIMED THE DEATH OF FIDEL CASTRO.

THE TRUTH WAS THAT THE INSURRECTION WAS ALIVE AND WELL.

Paul Dosal: PAS COULD HAVE SET UP AN INDEPENDENT COLUMN.

BUT INSTEAD, HE RECRUITED THOSE MEN AND SENT THEM TO FIDEL TO SERVE UNDER FIDEL.

HE COULD HAVE TAKEN ON BEING THE NOMINAL HEAD OF THE WHOLE M-26 MOVEMENT.

HE COULD HAVE TAKEN THEM HIMSELF.

SO I THINK HE'S SACRIFICING FOR THE GOOD OF THE CAUSE, WHICH IS UNUSUAL.

Man: IN THE PALACE OF THE REVOLUTION IN HAVANA, WHICH USED TO BE THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE, THERE IS AN ENTIRE SECTION DEVOTED TO THE EARLY DAYS, AND TO THE INTERVIEW WITH HERBERT MATTHEWS.

THERE IS A PHOTOGRAPH, THE FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPH OF THE TWO OF THEM TOGETHER, BOTH OF THEM SMOKING CIGARS, MATTHEWS WITH THE NOTES THAT HE TOOK IN HIS HAND, AND A FEW OTHER ARTIFACTS, INCLUDING AN OLD PORTABLE TYPEWRITER.

AND THE WORDING ON THIS DISPLAY SAYS, "THIS IS THE TYPEWRITER USED BY THE NORTH AMERICAN JOURNALIST, HERBERT MATTHEWS, DURING THE FAMOUS INTERVIEW WITH EL COMMANDANTE EN JEFE IN 1957."

IMAGINE, A TYPEWRITER, A BEAT-UP OLD TYPEWRITER, INDICATING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ROLE THAT MATTHEWS PLAYED.

Narrator: WHILE MATTHEWS DID NOT ACTUALLY BRING A TYPEWRITER INTO THE MOUNTAINS, THE FACT THAT HE AND CASTRO DID MEET PROVED INSTRUMENTAL IN INTRODUCING THE SIERRA REBELS TO THE WORLDWIDE PRESS.

Man: MATTHEWS PUT TO THE TEST BATISTA'S STORIES THAT FIDEL CASTRO HAD BEEN KILLED DURING THE GRAMMA LANDING.

SO HE PUT TO A LIE BATISTA'S PUBLIC STATEMENTS, AND IN THIS SENSE CASTRO GETS A LEG UP WITH HIS RIVALS BECAUSE HE HAS COMMAND OF AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS.

THIS WAS A SORT OF A FIRST FOR ANY REVOLUTIONARY GROUP IN CUBA.

Narrator: MATTHEWS' STORY DOMINATED THE FRONT PAGE OF THE "NEW YORK TIMES" FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS.

Anthony DePalma: THE WOODS AND THE FOLIAGE PART, AND OUT INTO THIS CLEARING COMES FIDEL CASTRO.

IT IS NOW 6: 00 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING.

AS TIRED AS MATTHEWS IS, CASTRO SEEMS TO BE ABSOLUTELY FRESH AND VIBRANT.

HE'S OVER SIX FOOT TALL, BURLY GUY, WITH A BEARD, CLEAN UNIFORM, AND A TELESCOPIC RIFLE.

ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AT THAT MOMENT, MATTHEWS, DESPITE HIS LONG EXPERIENCE AS A CORRESPONDENT, IS ESSENTIALLY SMITTEN.

HE'S THINKING, "MY GOD, I'VE GOT A TERRIFIC STORY HERE, AND LOOK AT THIS PERSON."

THIS YOUNG MAN, ALL BY HIMSELF MORE OR LESS, TRYING TO OVERTHROW A CRUEL DICTATOR.

THE PRESS WAS 100% IN FAVOR OF FIDEL CASTRO.

I MEAN, NO ONE INTERVIEWED BATISTA AT ALL.

ALL PEOPLE WENT TO SEE FIDEL.

Thomas Paterson: THERE WERE WAS FASCINATION WITH FIDEL, THIS HEROIC FIGURE, YOU KNOW, STUBBORNLY, DEFIANTLY FIGHTING ON AGAINST GREAT ODDS.

THERE WAS FASCINATION WITH HIM.

Narrator: JOURNALISTS HAD TO WORK HARD TO FIND THE LEADERS OF THE UNDERGROUND.

MATTHEWS MANAGED TO INTERVIEW A FEW UNDERGROUND FIGHTERS, BUT HE WAS IMPATIENT TO DISPROVE BATISTA'S PROPAGANDA PROCLAIMING CASTRO'S DEATH.

MATTHEWS ALSO MET WITH FRANK PAS.

Woman: THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT YOU CAN INTERVIEW OPENLY.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT TO GET A CODED MESSAGE IN ORDER TO FIND THEM IN SOME DARKENED APARTMENT IN HAVANA.

THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE SITTING IN THE SUNLIGHT, IN WHAT FOR AMERICAN EYES LOOKS LIKE A JUNGLE, AND IT'S ALL BEAUTIFUL AND ROMANTIC.

Narrator: A STREAM OF JOURNALISTS VENTURED INTO THE MOUNTAINS, AMONG THEM ROBERT TABER AND WENDELL HOFFMAN FROM CBS NEWS, AND ANDREW ST. GEORGE, A WRITER FOR MEN'S MAGAZINES Woman: HE WAS OVERWHELMED WITH THE WONDERFULNESS OF THEM.

FIDEL, I THINK, WAS INCREDIBLY CHARISMATIC AND JUST BLEW HIM AWAY.

ALL HE WANTED TO DO WAS GO BACK.

HE WENT BACK SIX TIMES.

Lillian Guerra: THE EARLIEST FILMS WE HAVE ARE FROM 1957.

THEY TAKE HIM ON THEIR FIRST SORT OF EXPEDITION TO TAKE OVER A TOWN, AS ST. GEORGE DESCRIBES IT, LARGELY FOR THE PURPOSES OF SORT OF LETTING THE TOWN RESIDENTS SPREAD THE WORD THAT THEY EXISTED.

PRECISELY IN ORDER TO HAVE HIM DOCUMENT WHAT THEY WERE HOPING WOULD BE SEEN AS THEIR POWER.

Narrator: A FEW MONTHS AFTER THE GRAMMA LANDING, THE REBELS IN THE MOUNTAINS STILL ONLY NUMBERED A FEW HUNDRED.

MOST WERE FARMERS AND YOUNG RECRUITS FROM THE CITY WHO WERE BROUGHT TO THE MOUNTAINS BY FRANK PAS.

Lillian Guerra: THEY MAKE A BIG DISPLAY OF THEMSELVES, AND THERE IS ST. GEORGE FILMING IT ALL.

AND THEN THEY WALK SPUR-TO-SPUR DOWN THE STREET, MAIN STREET OF THE TOWN, BUT IT'S SO STAGED THAT IT'S ALMOST HOKEY.

Tom Gjelten: FIDEL WAS A CELEBRITY AHEAD OF HIS TIME IN HIS MASTERY OF THE MEDIA.

AND HE WAS SEEN AS THE LEADER OF THE REVOLUTION.

HE WAS SEEN AS THE LEADER OF THE REVOLUTION, SORT OF AS THE PUBLIC FACE OF THE MOVEMENT, THE FACE, YOU KNOW, THAT THE AVERAGE CUBAN ASSOCIATED WITH THE MOVEMENT MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE.

Narrator: MARCH 13, 1957.

ECHEVERRA AND THE DIRECTORIO REVOLUCIONARIO WERE TIRED OF DANGEROUS AND COSTLY SKIRMISHES WITH BATISTA'S POLICE.

THEY CRAFTED A NEW AND VERY DANGEROUS PLAN.

Narrator: ECHEVERRA'S PLAN WAS BOLD AND DECISIVE.

HE WOULD SEND ONE GROUP OF COMMANDOS TO THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE TO ASSASSINATE FULGENCIO BATISTA.

ANOTHER GROUP WOULD CREATE DIVERSIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

Thomas Paterson: HIS EMPHASIS WAS ON DECAPITATION OF THE REGIME.

HIT IT AT THE TOP.

DECAPITATE IT, THEN REBUILD A NEW GOVERNMENT UNDER FAIR ELECTIONS.

Narrator: A THIRD GROUP LED BY ECHEVERRA WOULD TAKE OVER A RADIO STATION IN HAVANA, ANNOUNCE BATISTA'S DEATH, AND DECLARE A NEW DEMOCRATIC REGIME.

Anthony Depalma: THEY'VE BEEN PLOTTING FOR TWO YEARS TO ATTACK THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE.

AS CASTRO'S STATURE IS RISING, THEY'RE WATCHING AND WORRYING THAT IF THEY WAIT MUCH LONGER, CASTRO WILL BE SO POWERFUL THAT THEY WILL HAVE LOST THEIR OPPORTUNITY.

Paul Dosal: BY ATTACKING THE PALACE, THEY WERE HOPING TO RECLAIM THE TOP LEADERSHIP SPOT, AT LEAST IN THE MINDS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

Narrator: ON THE NIGHT BEFORE THE ATTACK, THE TEAMS OF COMMANDOS WERE HIDING THROUGHOUT HAVANA, WAITING, WONDERING.

WOULD THIS BE THEIR MOMENT?

DAWN.

THE ATTACK IS DELAYED.

SOMETHING IS WRONG.

THERE ARE STREET BARRICADES AROUND THE PALACE.

WHY?

DOES BATISTA KNOW?

HOURS PASS.

REBEL COMMANDOS WAIT.

THEN, IN MID-AFTERNOON, THE BARRICADES ARE REMOVED.

THEY WERE ONLY THERE TO DIRECT TRAFFIC.

IT IS NOW OR NEVER.

ECHEVERRA LAUNCHES THE ATTACK.

[GUNFIRE] Narrator: ECHEVERRA AND HIS COMMANDOS TAKE OVER THE RADIO STATION.

AT THE SAME TIME, OTHER UNITS STORM THE PALACE, FIRING MACHINE GUNS AND THROWING GRENADES.

THEY FIGHT THEIR WAY UP THE STAIRS.

THEY BURST INTO THE PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE LOOKING FOR FULGENCIO BATISTA, BUT BATISTA IS NOT THERE.

BATISTA ESCAPED TO A HIGHER FLOOR AS HIS GUARDS REGROUPED AND FOUGHT BACK.

THE COMMANDOS WERE FORCED TO RETREAT.

MANY WERE KILLED AND WOUNDED.

FULGENCIO BATISTA HAD SURVIVED.

ECHEVERRA, NOT AWARE OF THE DEFEAT, WAS ALREADY BROADCASTING THE RAID'S SUCCESS AT THE RADIO STATION THEY HAD TAKEN OVER.

Narrator: HAVANA WAS IN UTTER CHAOS.

THE DIRECTORIO COMMANDOS CONTINUED THE BATTLE IN THE STREETS, BUT NUMBERS WERE NOT ON THEIR SIDE.

Narrator: STILL UNAWARE OF THE CATASTROPHE AT THE PALACE, ECHEVERRA RACED TOWARD THE SAFETY OF THE UNIVERSITY.

JUST A BLOCK AWAY, ONE OF JOS'S COMMANDOS OPENED FIRE ON A POLICE CAR, SETTING OFF A VIOLENT EXCHANGE.

ECHEVERRA WAS SHOT TWICE.

HE LAY BLEEDING IN THE STREET.

HIS COMPANIONS RAN TO THE SAFETY OF THE UNIVERSITY.

ONE HOUR LATER, JOS ANTONIO ECHEVERRA, JUST 25 YEARS OLD, WAS DEAD.

Narrator: THE PLAN WAS BOLD, AND IT ALMOST WORKED, BUT THE PRICE WAS HIGH.

THE DIRECTORIO LOST ITS DYNAMIC LEADER AND ITS BEST CHANCE AT ELIMINATING BATISTA.

ECHEVERRA LOST EVERYTHING AND GAINED LITTLE.

SAFE IN THE DISTANT SIERRA MAESTRA MOUNTAINS, FIDEL CASTRO RISKED LITTLE AND GAINED THE AUTHORITY OF THE REVOLUTION.

Paul Dosas: THE ATTACK ON THE PALACE WOULD NOT HAVE LED, NECESSARILY, TOWARD A REVOLUTION.

IT WOULD HAVE LED TO A CHANGE IN GOVERNMENT.

AND FOR THAT REASON, MANY OF THE SIERRA MAESTRA REBELS, FIRST AND FOREMOST CHE GUEVARA, DENOUNCED THE ATTACK.

Narrator: A WAVE OF RETALIATION BY BATISTA'S POLICE FOLLOWED THE FAILED ATTACK.

MANY OF THE REMAINING LEADERS OF THE DIRECTORIO WERE HUNTED DOWN AND EXECUTED.

[GUNSHOT] Narrator: THE WAR ON THE PLAINS EXPANDED THE MOVEMENT FROM THE CITIES INTO SMALLER TOWNS AND RURAL VILLAGES.

EACH TOWN PROVIDED A CADRE OF REBELS WHO WERE, IN MANY CASES, OUTSIDE OF THE CONTROL OF FIDEL CASTRO.

Narrator: THE FRIENDS AND FAMILIES OF LEADERS OF THE UNDERGROUND SUFFERED INTIMIDATION, HARASSMENT, AND TORTURE AT THE HANDS OF THE POLICE.

FOR MEMBERS OF THE DIRECTORIO AND FOR FRANK PAS' FIGHTERS, LIFE WOULD BECOME A LETHAL GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE.

Narrator: BY CONTRAST, IN THE SIERRA MAESTRA MOUNTAINS, CASTRO AND HIS GUERILLAS WERE BEYOND THE REACH OF BATISTA'S POLICE AND WERE HIDDEN AWAY FROM HIS ARMY.

Paul Dosal: THE LIFE OF A GUERRILLA USUALLY IS ALL ABOUT WAITING AROUND.

IT'S PUNCTUATED BY A FEW MOMENTS OF INTENSE ACTION, BUT USUALLY FOR A GUERRILLA FIGHTER, YOU'RE JUST WAITING AROUND.

YOU MIGHT MARCH A LOT, BUT YOU WAIT IN AMBUSH.

Lillian Guerra: THE GUERRILLAS WERE HOPING TO HAVE AS FEW ENCOUNTERS AS THEY POSSIBLY COULD, BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE VERY MANY PEOPLE.

THEY HAD HARDLY ANY WEAPONRY.

THEY NEEDED TO SAVE AS MUCH AS THEY COULD.

Narrator: THE GUERRILLAS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND THE UNDERGROUND FIGHTERS IN THE CITIES FOUGHT DIFFERENT TYPES OF WARS.

THEY OFTEN DID NOT UNDERSTAND EACH OTHERS' STRUGGLES.

CASTRO'S FORCES COULD CHOOSE THEIR BATTLES, BUT IN THE CITIES, CONSTANT SKIRMISHES KEPT FIGHTERS ON THE RUN.

Julia Sweig: THE PEOPLE THAT CUT THEIR TEETH IN THE URBAN UNDERGROUND, AND IT STARTED IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT LONG BEFORE FIDEL MADE IT TO THE SIERRA MAESTRA, PROBABLY DID SEE THE GUERRILLA EFFORT AS SYMBOLIC, BUT DID NOT CONCEIVE THAT THERE WOULD BE LITERALLY A MILITARY DEFEAT OF THE STANDING BATISTA ARMY.

I'M NOT SURE THAT FIDEL CASTRO HIMSELF ENVISIONED THAT HE WAS GOING TO MILITARILY DEFEAT THE BATISTA ARMY, EITHER.

Narrator: CASTRO INCREASINGLY RELIED ON THE ADVICE AND COUNSEL OF CHE GUEVARA, THE CHARISMATIC ARGENTINE PHYSICIAN WHO JOINED CASTRO IN MEXICO.

HE WOULD BECOME CASTRO'S MILITARY SECOND IN COMMAND.

Paul Dosal: CHE GUEVARA FELT THAT THE UNDERGROUND PEOPLE, IF THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL, WOULD SORT OF DERAIL HIS HOPES FOR TRUE AUTHENTIC REVOLUTION.

HE LOOKED AT THESE PEOPLE AS REFORMERS, NOT REVOLUTIONARIES, AND HE WASN'T YET SURE THAT HE HAD FIDEL ON HIS SIDE IN THIS EFFORT.

SO HE'S PULLING AT FIDEL TO COME TO HIS STRATEGIC AND IDEOLOGICAL POSITION AND PULLING HIM AWAY FROM THE UNDERGROUND FACTION.

Narrator: JULY, 1957.

JOS ANTONIO ECHEVERRA IS DEAD.

MANY OF HIS SUPPORTERS HAVE REGROUPED IN THE MOUNTAINS, OR FLED CUBA.

THOUGH PAS AND CASTRO DID NOT AGREE ON THE GOALS OR STRATEGIES OF THE REVOLUTION, THE UNDERGROUND INSURGENCY, LED BY FRANK PAS, WAS GROWING.

EARLIER IN 1957, PAS HAD TRAVELED TO THE SIERRA MAESTRA.

HE ARGUED THAT THE BEST CHANCE FOR SUCCESS WAS TO FOCUS ON THE INSURGENCY IN THE CITIES.

FIDEL DISAGREED.

IT WAS BY NO MEANS A FOREGONE CONCLUSION THAT CASTRO'S ARGUMENT WOULD PREVAIL.

Paul Dosal: GIVEN THE OBVIOUS WEAKNESSES OF THE REBEL ARMY, THE PROSPECTS FOR VICTORY MUST HAVE SEEMED DIM TO EVERYBODY EXCEPT FOR FIDEL, WHO TRIED TO PERSUADE EVERYONE THAT THIS COULD ULTIMATELY WORK.

Paul Dosal: AND IT MIGHT REFLECT SOMETHING OF HIS CHARACTER AND HIS OBJECTIVES THAT HE SENSED FOR SOME REASON THAT FIDEL MIGHT BE RIGHT, AND SO WILLINGLY SUBORDINATED HIMSELF AND HIS MOVEMENT TO A SUPPORTIVE ROLE SO THAT ALL THE FUNDS AND THE RECRUITS THAT HE COULD RAISE IN THE CITIES WOULD THEN BE SENT INTO THE MOUNTAINS.

PAS HAD A POLITICAL STRATEGY, AND HE VERY MUCH BELIEVED THAT IN ORDER TO SOFTEN THE RADICALISM THAT THE REBEL ARMY REPRESENTED, IN ORDER TO BUILD POLITICAL SUPPORT AMONG CUBAN PROFESSIONALS WHO WERE ANTI-BATISTA, BUT NOT NECESSARILY HARDENED REVOLUTIONARIES AT ALL, HE NEEDED TO HAVE A KIND OF CENTRIST FACE, BUT SUBSTANCE, TOO, TO THE REVOLUTIONARY PROCESS.

Narrator: PAS WANTED FAIR ELECTIONS AND SOCIAL REFORMS.

HE INSISTED ON A KEY DOCUMENT THAT OUTLINED THE COURSE OF THE REVOLUTION.

PAS SENT TWO MODERATE REPRESENTATIVES TO FIDEL CASTRO IN ORDER TO CREATE THIS MANIFESTO.

FELIPE PAZOS WAS A BANKER AND RAL CHIBS WAS THE BROTHER OF AN IMPORTANT POLITICAL LEADER.

FELIPE PAZOS AND RAL CHIBS, MY DAD, BOTH WENT AND MET FIDEL IN THE SIERRA.

THEY CONSTRUCTED THIS DOCUMENT TOGETHER.

THEY ALL SIGNED IT.

IT WAS ONE OF THOSE HISTORIC MOMENTS IN CUBAN HISTORY WHERE THESE THREE DIFFERENT COALITIONS CAME TOGETHER TO UNITE TO FIGHT THE OPPRESSION OF THE TIME.

Narrator: NEGOTIATIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE AND PURPOSE OF THE INSURRECTION CONTINUED THROUGHOUT THE SPRING AND SUMMER OF 1957.

Thomas Paterson: PAS DOES, IN A SENSE, FORCE THIS CIVIC UNITY ON FIDEL, FORCE THE CIVIC UNITY PLEDGE OF THE SIERRA MANIFESTO.

(Actor): "...TO UNITE IS THE ONE AND ONLY PATRIOTIC COURSE AT THIS TIME.

TO UNITE ALL THE POLITICAL, REVOLUTIONARY, AND SOCIAL SECTORS THAT ARE COMBATING THE DICTATORSHIP ON THE BASIS OF WHAT THEY HOLD IN COMMON.

IT IS ESSENTIAL TO DECREE REVOLUTION: TO ORGANIZE THE FRONT THAT WE PROPOSE.

THE FALL OF THE REGIME WILL COME OF ITSELF AND USHER IN A PERIOD OF PEACE AND FREEDOM."

FIDEL CASTRO WITH THE SIERRA MANIFESTO UNDERSTOOD THE POLITICAL WIN THAT THAT REPRESENTED, TO HAVE THESE OUTSTANDING, UPSTANDING CHARACTERS IN CUBA'S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE EMBRACE FIDEL CASTRO AND THE 26th OF JULY MOVEMENT AS A LEGITIMATE WAY OF CHALLENGING THE DICTATOR.

Narrator: PERHAPS FRANK PAS WAS NAIVE ABOUT CASTRO'S POLITICAL AMBITIONS.

PERHAPS HIS MOTIVES WERE POLITICAL AS WELL AS PRAGMATIC.

THE SIERRA MANIFESTO WAS DRAFTED ON JULY 12, 1957, AND PUBLISHED IN "BOHEMIA" MAGAZINE ON JULY 28th.

THREE DAYS LATER, FRANK PAS WOULD BE DEAD.

Narrator: FRANK'S LITTLE BROTHER JOSU WAS QUICK TO CONFRONT THE POLICE.

THIS ESPECIALLY ANGERED SANTIAGO'S CHIEF OF POLICE, COLONEL JOS SALAS CAIZARES.

RUTHLESS AND BRUTAL, CAIZARES WAS NICKNAMED "MASSACRE".

[GUNSHOT] Narrator: JUNE 30, 1957.

JOSU AND HIS FRIENDS ARE MURDERED BY THE POLICE IN THE STREETS OF SANTIAGO.

Narrator: IMPRISONED AFTER THE SANTIAGO ATTACK, FRANK PAS WAS RELEASED BY A SYMPATHETIC JUDGE.

MARKED FOR ASSASSINATION BY COLONEL "MASSACRE" CAIZARES, HE WAS FORCED TO GO FURTHER UNDERGROUND.

Jos lvarez: THE POLICE, ALL THE REPRESSIVE FORCES OF THE REGIME, WERE AFTER HIM.

HE WAS NUMBER ONE ON THE MOST- WANTED LIST.

Narrator: FRANK HAD MANAGED TO SUCCESSFULLY EVADE CAIZARES, BUT HE KNEW THAT SANTIAGO WAS NO LONGER SAFE.

PAS STILL HAD MUCH TO ACCOMPLISH IN THE CITY.

BUT HE REALIZED THAT SOON HE WOULD HAVE TO LEAVE SANTIAGO FOR THE SAFER GROUNDS OF THE MOUNTAINS.

Narrator: BY STAYING UNDERGROUND, FRANK MANAGED TO EVADE CAIZARES AND HIS MEN.

HE HAD TO CHANGE HIDEOUTS VERY FREQUENTLY.

I CALCULATED THAT HE CHANGED HOUSES AN AVERAGE OF ONE HOUSE EVERY 5 DAYS DURING 81 DAYS.

Narrator: PAS MOVES TO RAL PUJOL'S HOUSE, A PLACE HE LIKED BECAUSE IT HAD A PRIVATE PHONE LINE THAT COULD NOT BE TRACED.

Narrator: IT MAY HAVE BEEN THE MONTHS OF HIDING FROM THE POLICE, THE MULTIPLE FALSE ALARMS, OR SIMPLY BEING USED TO THE DANGEROUS ENVIRONMENT, BUT ON THAT DAY, PAS WAS A LITTLE LESS CAREFUL.

WHEN THE POLICE BEGAN TO SEARCH HOUSES DOWN THE STREET, PAS STAYED BEHIND LONGER THAN HE SHOULD HAVE.

FRANK DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE.

HE SAID "YOU KNOW, I HAVE WALKED THROUGH THIS SITUATION MANY TIMES.

THIS IS PERHAPS THE MOST DANGEROUS, BUT I AM GOING TO STAY, SO YOU GO."

AND, AH, THAT WAS HIS FINAL COMMAND TO HIS MEN.

Narrator: FRANK AND RAL LEFT THE PUJOL HOUSE.

THEY WALKED UP THE STREET TOWARDS A CAR PARKED AROUND THE CORNER.

Jos lvarez: THEY STARTED WALKING IN THE DIRECTION OF CORONA STREET.

WHEN THEY HAD WALKED ABOUT HALF A BLOCK, ONE SAILOR FROM ONE OF THE PORCHES OF THE SECOND FLOOR OF A HOUSE SAYS, "HEY, YOU KNOW, SEARCH THOSE."

Narrator: HARDLY ANYONE IN SANTIAGO HAD KNOWN PAS' LOCATION, BUT SOMEONE MAY HAVE BETRAYED HIM.

Jos lvarez: COLONEL SALAS CAIZARES CAME, BUT HE DIDN'T RECOGNIZE FRANK.

BUT LUIS MARIANO RANDICH, WHO HAD BEEN HIS CLASSMATE IN TEACHER SCHOOL, SAID, "COLONEL, THAT ONE THERE IS FRANK PAS."

SO, SALAS CAIZARES GRABBED HIM BY HIS COLLAR AND PUSHED HIM TO THE STREET.

[GUNSHOT] Narrator: THE FOLLOWING DAY, SANTIAGO WAS VIRTUALLY PARALYZED.

PEOPLE FILLED THE STREETS IN AN ENORMOUS PROCESSION.

Julia Sweig: IT WAS A VERY BIG DEAL.

IT WASN'T JUST SOME SORT OF, LIKE, TINY, ANONYMOUS INSURGENT THAT DIED.

Narrator: THE PEOPLE WERE IN MOURNING, BUT ALSO PROTESTING.

UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR EARL SMITH HAD JUST ARRIVED IN CUBA, PAYING HIS FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO SANTIAGO.

OVER 100 WOMEN - MOTHERS, WIVES, AND DAUGHTERS - CONFRONTED HIM.

Thomas Paterson: SMITH IS APPEALED TO BY PEOPLE WITH PLACARDS, AND BATISTA FORCES BEAT UP A LOT OF THESE DEMONSTRATORS.

HE'S AGHAST.

SMITH IS AGHAST AT FIRST, AND HE UTTERS A SHORT STATEMENT TO THAT EFFECT.

BATISTA IS AS ANGRY AS ONE CAN BE.

IN FACT, SMITH MIGHT HAVE BEEN PERSONA NON GRATA FOR A WHILE IN THE BATISTA GOVERNMENT.

Narrator: BATISTA WAS ENRAGED.

A CROWD OF MOURNING MOTHERS PAINTED HIM AS A MONSTER.

HIS EFFORTS TO CONTAIN THE REBELLION HAD ONLY MADE THINGS WORSE.

IN MANY WAYS, HE CONTRIBUTED TO HIS OWN UNDOING.

Paul Dosal: IT EXPOSED THE REGIME FOR WHAT IT WAS, A REALLY BRUTAL REGIME.

FOR HE COULD NO LONGER SAY THAT HE IS A DEMOCRATICALLY-ELECTED GOVERNMENT.

THAT WAS LONG GONE.

NOR COULD HE SAY NOW THAT HE RESPECTS HUMAN RIGHTS OR INTERNATIONAL LAW.

HE HAD BEEN VIOLATING ALL OF THESE THINGS, AND THAT ONLY SERVES TO GENERATE MORE POPULAR SUPPORT FOR THE REBEL MOVEMENT.

Thomas Paterson: AND BATISTA, IN MANY WAYS, ASSISTED FIDEL'S RISE BY KILLING OFF OR ARRESTING OR JAILING HIS RIVALS, LIKE ECHEVERRA, KILLED AT THE MARCH 1957 PRESIDENTIAL PALACE ATTACK.

BATISTA KILLS FRANK PAS IN SANTIAGO IN JULY OF 1957.

Paul Dosal: THE DEATH OF PAS WEAKENS THE URBAN UNDERGROUND SIGNIFICANTLY.

NOBODY COULD MATCH THE ENERGY AND ENTHUSIASM AND, FRANKLY, THE OUTRIGHT HEROISM OF THIS YOUNG MAN WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR FIDEL TO SUCCEED IN THE MOUNTAINS.

WHO KNOWS WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED HAD HE LIVED ON?

THE STRUGGLE FOR THE LEADERSHIP AND DIRECTION OF THE M-26 IS GOING TO GO ON FOR A WHILE AFTER THE DEATH OF FRANK PAS.

BUT NOBODY IS REALLY ABLE TO STAND UP TO FIDEL AND STOP WHAT IS AT THIS POINT A NEARLY IRREVERSIBLE TREND TOWARD THE LEADERSHIP OF FIDEL CASTRO.

[MUSIC] Narrator: PAS AND ECHEVERRA ARE NOW DEAD.

UNDERGROUND FIGHTERS, MANY WHO WERE FROM MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES, ESCAPED PERSECUTION BY JOINING THE GUERRILLA FORCES IN THE MOUNTAINS, OR BY FLEEING TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

IN SANTIAGO, NO ONE CAN REPLACE FRANK PAS.

SOME OF HIS PEOPLE CONTINUE TO FIGHT IN THE CITIES.

OTHERS TAKE THE BATTLE TO THE COUNTRYSIDE AND MOUNTAINS.

FOR THE NEXT YEAR AND A HALF, "FRANK'S PEOPLE" SUPPORTED AND SUPPLIED CASTRO'S GUERRILLAS, WHO HARASS BATISTA'S INCREASINGLY DEMORALIZED ARMY.

BATISTA'S CORRUPTION AND BRUTALITY WERE BECOMING OBVIOUS, EVEN TO MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY.

THE ARMY OFFERED LITTLE RESISTANCE TO THE REBELS.

MANY SOLDIERS SIMPLY DESERTED THE ARMY TO FIGHT FOR CASTRO.

Paul Dosal: THE BATISTA REGIME IS COLLAPSING FROM WITHIN.

THE ARMY IS SO THOROUGHLY DEMORALIZED THAT THEY DON'T SEE ANY VALUE IN FIGHTING.

THEY DON'T SEE WHY THEY SHOULD CONTINUE TO FIGHT AND RISK THEIR LIVES FOR AN UNPOPULAR REGIME, PARTICULARLY WHEN POPULAR SUPPORT FOR THE REBELS JUST SEEMS TO BE SKYROCKETING.

POPULAR SUPPORT BY THIS TIME IS DEFINITELY WITH THE REBEL SIDE.

AND IT HELPED THEM TO DEMORALIZE THEIR ENEMY, WHICH WAS INCREASINGLY WILLING TO SURRENDER WITHOUT A FIGHT.

Narrator: THE END WAS IN SIGHT WHEN CHE GUEVARA'S JULY 26th MOVEMENT MEN JOINED FORCES WITH THE D.R.

AND OTHER REBEL GROUPS IN THE ESCAMBRAY MOUNTAINS.

TOGETHER, THEY ATTACKED BATISTA'S ARMY AT SANTA CLARA IN DECEMBER OF 1958.

THE BATISTA ARMY SURRENDERED ON THE 29th.

TWO DAYS LATER, EARLY ON NEW YEAR'S DAY, BATISTA FLED THE COUNTRY.

THERE WAS REJOICING IN THE STREETS OF HAVANA.

LOTS OF CARS DRIVING AROUND, HONKING, BATISTA HAD FLED, AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A NEW GOVERNMENT.

Narrator: THIS WAS FIDEL'S MOMENT.

HIS KNOWLEDGE OF HISTORY, HIS PERSONAL MAGNETISM, AND HIS MEDIA SAVVY ALL CAME TOGETHER.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, HE HAD SURVIVED.

Paul Dosal: FIDEL HAD HIS UNITS IN PLACE TO SECURE HAVANA.

IT ALLOWED HIM THEN TO STAGE A TRIUMPHFUL PARADE ACROSS THE COUNTRY OVER THE COURSE OF ABOUT A WEEK, GOING FROM SANTIAGO TO HAVANA ROLLING UP ALONG THE WAY SUPPORTERS, CREATING THE IMPRESSION THAT HE WAS, IN FACT, THE UNDISPUTED LEADER OF THIS MOVEMENT THAT HAD FINALLY SUCCEEDED IN OVERTHROWING BATISTA.

Narrator: ECHEVERRA HAD BEEN DEAD FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS, BUT HIS ORGANIZATION WAS STILL POWERFUL.

IT HAD NEVER ACCEPTED THE LEADERSHIP OF FIDEL CASTRO.

THEY COOPERATED TO DEFEAT BATISTA, BUT THEY HAD NO INTENTION OF SIMPLY GIVING THE GOVERNMENT TO CASTRO.

Paul Dosal: THE DIRECTORIO DID NOT RECOGNIZE FIDEL'S AUTHORITY.

THEY WERE AN INDEPENDENT ORGANIZATION, AND HAD BEEN FOR A FEW YEARS.

SO THEY HAD TO BE PERSUADED TO YIELD, OR TO RECOGNIZE FIDEL'S AUTHORITY.

THE DIRECTORIO HAD TAKEN COMMAND OF THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE AND THE UNIVERSITY OF HAVANA CAMPUS.

Narrator: AFTER A LONG AND BLOODY REVOLUTION BETWEEN BATISTA AND THE REBELS, THERE WAS A REAL CHANCE THAT THE REBELS WOULD DRAW BLOOD AMONG THEMSELVES.

Paul Dosal: AND THERE WERE RADICALS WITHIN THE M-26 WHO ADVISED CHE TO GO AHEAD AND LOB A FEW SHELLS TO THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE, MEANING GO AHEAD AND FIGHT, ATTACK THE DIRECTORIO REVOLUCIONARIO AND BRING THEM INTO SUBMISSION.

Narrator: CASTRO CAME UP WITH A DIFFERENT PLAN TO CONSOLIDATE HIS AUTHORITY OVER THE DIRECTORIO REVOLUCIONARIO.

Narrator: JOS ANTONIO ECHEVERRA'S BROTHER AND SISTER KNEW HOW HE FELT ABOUT FIDEL CASTRO.

THEY DECLINED TO ACCOMPANY HIM TO HAVANA.

CASTRO WOULD HAVE TO REMOVE HIS LAST RIVALS ANOTHER WAY.

AS FIDEL ENTERED HAVANA, THE DIRECTORIO'S FORCES POSSESSED AN ARMORY FULL OF WEAPONS, THREATENING A COUNTER-REVOLUTION AGAINST FIDEL.

ON THE NIGHT OF HIS ARRIVAL IN HAVANA, CASTRO GAVE A PIVOTAL SPEECH.

(Actor reading Castro): "WHY ARE CLANDESTINE ARMS "BEING STORED AT THIS VERY MINUTE?

"WHAT ARE THESE ARMS FOR?

"AGAINST WHOM ARE THEY GOING TO BE USED?

"AGAINST THE REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT THAT HAS THE SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLE?

"WHEN ALL THE RIGHTS OF THE CITIZENS HAVE BEEN RESTORED, "AND AN ELECTION FOR THAT PURPOSE IS HELD AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, WHY DO WE NEED ARMS?"

Narrator: CASTRO'S GIFT WITH WORDS GAINED HIM THE SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLE.

THE NEXT DAY, RECOGNIZING CASTRO'S POPULARITY, FAUVE CHAMON, THE LEADER OF THE DIRECTORIO REVOLUTIONARIO, GAVE IN AND PLACED HIS ORGANIZATION UNDER FIDEL'S CONTROL.

AND WITH THAT, THE REVOLUTION AND ITS FUTURE WAS FIRMLY IN FIDEL'S HANDS.

IT'S JUST A MATTER OF COINCIDENCE.

I MEAN, IF YOU LOOK AT THE PEOPLE WHO REALLY COULD HAVE RIVALED FIDEL CASTRO, JOS ANTONIO ECHEVERRA, FRANK PAS, CHE GUEVARA HIMSELF, WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

NONE OF THEM SURVIVED THE REVOLUTION.

IN A FEW YEARS, EVERY ONE OF THEM WAS KILLED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.

[ CROWDS CHEERING ] Paul Dosal: CHE GUEVARA BECAME THE MAIN CHRONICLER OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTION.

HIS EPISODES OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR FORMED THE BASIS OF ALL HISTORIES OF THE REVOLUTION.

FORMED THE BASIS OF THE MYTHOLOGY THAT THIS SMALL REBEL ARMY OF 12 TO 16 MEN SOMEHOW SURVIVED, GREW FROM A RAGTAG ARMY IN THE SIERRA MAESTRA TO A POPULAR ARMY STRONG ENOUGH TO TAKE THE WAR FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE CITIES.

THIS WAS NOT REALLY A GUERILLA WAR CULMINATING IN A MILITARY DEFEAT OF THE DICTATORSHIP.

IT WAS LARGELY A REVOLUTION THAT WAS FUELED BY PEOPLE IN THE CITIES, BY STRIKES, BY POPULAR UNREST.

THE SUPPORT FOR THE BATISTA REGIME JUST CRUMBLED.

PEOPLE LIKE FRANK PAS WHO REALLY MOBILIZED POPULAR SUPPORT FOR THE REVOLUTION IN THE CITIES ARE THE ONES THAT DESERVE THE MOST CREDIT FOR ITS TRIUMPH.

Narrator: FRANK PAS, JOS ANTONIO ECHEVERRA, AND THE COMPLEXITY OF THE REVOLUTION REMAINED LARGELY INVISIBLE TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD.

FOREIGN JOURNALISTS HAD DELIVERED STORIES AND PHOTOGRAPHS THAT CAPTURED THE ROMANCE AND BRAVADO OF THE REVOLUTION, EVEN THOUGH MANY OF THOSE STORIES WERE INCOMPLETE, AND IN SOME CASES, INACCURATE.

WITH HIS POLITICAL RIVALS GONE, CASTRO HAD LITTLE INTEREST IN CORRECTING THE MYTHOLOGY THAT HAD GROWN AROUND THE UPRISING.

THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, THEY HAVE GREAT ADMIRATION FOR YOU AND YOUR MEN, BECAUSE YOU ARE IN THE REAL AMERICAN TRADITION OF A GEORGE WASHINGTON, OF ANY MAN WHO STARTED WITH A SMALL BODY, FOUGHT AGAINST A GREAT NATION, AND WON.

Errol Flynn: I WAS WAITING TO MEET THE OBJECT OF MY WHOLE TRIP, AND FINALLY WE MET.

IT DOESN'T TAKE MORE THAN HALF A MINUTE FOR ANYONE TO REALIZE THAT HERE WAS A MAN, A REAL MAN.

YOU SEE THIS SCARF?

RIGHT AFTER THE MEETING IT WAS PRESENTED TO ME.

IT WAS WOVEN AND EMBROIDERED BY ONE OF THE GIRLS OF THE REBELLION, THOSE GIRLS WHO FOUGHT SIDE BY SIDE WITH CASTRO AND THOSE GALLANT MEN OF HIS.

Marissa Chibs: I DON'T THINK ANYBODY WANTS TO BE FORGOTTEN.

ANYBODY WHO CHOOSES THIS ROAD IS ALSO WANTING TO BE A PART OF HISTORY, WANTING TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED FOR THE CONTRIBUTION, AND I THINK FOR MANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN FORGOTTEN, THAT'S VERY PAINFUL, AND THAT BETRAYAL IS THE GREATEST PAIN OF ALL.

Tom Gjelten: CUBA AT THAT MOMENT HAD, I THINK WE CAN SAY IN HINDSIGHT, AN EXTRAORDINARY OPPORTUNITY.

BUT AS IT WAS, THAT SORT OF MOMENT, THAT HOPEFUL MOMENT REALLY DID NOT LAST VERY LONG.

IT LASTED ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF, TWO YEARS, AND THEN IT WAS GONE.

AND I THINK THAT'S A REAL TRAGEDY BECAUSE WE'RE NEVER GOING TO KNOW WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED IN CUBA.

WE NEVER ARE GOING TO KNOW WHAT COULD HAVE DEVELOPED IN CUBA IF CIRCUMSTANCES HAD BEEN A LITTLE DIFFERENT.

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