Cuba Guide
Santiago de Cuba
The Cuartel Moncada
Address: Several blocks north from Plaza Marté and just off the Avenida de los Libertadores
Opening time: Museo 26 de Julio Tues– Sat 9am–7.30pm, Sun 9am–1pm
Price: Museo 26 de Julio $2CUC, $1CUC for a camera, $5CUC for a video camera
The Cuartel Moncada, futilely stormed by Fidel Castro and his band of revolutionaries on July 26, 1953, is a must-see, if only for the place it has in Cuban history. With a commanding view over the mountains, the ochre-and-white building, topped with a fat row of castellations, is still peppered with bullet holes from the attack. These were plastered over on Fulgencio Batista's orders, only to be hollowed out again rather obsessively by Fidel Castro when he came to power, with photographs used to make sure the positions were as authentic as possible.
Also inside is the Museo 26 de Julio, which is not without flashes of brilliance when it comes to telling the story of the attack, but is otherwise rather dry. Note that English-, Spanish- and Italian-speaking guides will take you round the museum at no extra charge. The museum pulls no punches on the subject of the atrocities visited upon the captured rebels by the Regimental Intelligence Service, Batista's henchmen: a huge collage, blotted with crimson paint, has been created from photographs of the dead rebels lying in their own gore. There are short biographies of some of the unfortunates, along with gruesome bloodstained uniforms and some sobering sketches of the type of weapons used.
Thankfully, the last room has a less oppressive theme, with photographs of the surviving rebels leaving the Isla de Pinos (now Isla de la Juventud), where they had been imprisoned following the attack, and in exile in Mexico. If you can tear yourself away from the lovingly preserved burgundy jumper and US-issue backpack that Castro wore in the Sierra Maestra, have a look at the guns used in the war, in particular the one in the middle of the display, carved with the national flag and the inscription "Vale más morir de pies a vivir de rodillas" (It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees).