Randall, Margaret: "Haydee Santamaria, Cuban Revolutionary: She Led by Transgression."(Book review)

• Author: McSherry, J. Patrice

Randall, Margaret. Haydee Santamaria, Cuban Revolutionary: She Led by Transgression. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2015.

Margaret Randall's book about one of the few women who participated in all facets of the Cuban revolution, Haydee Santamaria, is a lyrical tribute, an impressionistic history, and a personal reminiscence. Randall lived in Cuba in the 1970s and worked with Santamaria in various literary endeavors. The book was in part motivated by Randall's sense that Santamaria had not been remembered or honored as a hero of the revolution as she should have been, largely due to the fact that she committed suicide, and perhaps also due to her gender. Suicide was not understood or accepted in the revolution and Cuban authorities displayed ambivalence regarding the commemoration of her role and her accomplishments, despite the fact that Santamaria fought with Fidel Castro in the Sierra; was a member of the leadership that included Castro, Che Guevara, and others; was a skilled and effective political organizer; and was the founder and director of the...