The Cuban Revolution

The Cuban Revolution

The Havana audio-guided tour offers you an insight into one of the most decisive chapters of the history of Cuba: the Cuban Revolution. In the Habana Vieja as in the Vedado, these two words still resonate with force.

From the Moncada barracks to 1959

After the independence obtained from Spain in 1902, the island knew a new upheaval when Fulgencio Batista returned to power by a coup d'état in 1952 and established a dictatorship. The opposition grew. In 1953, Fidel Castro and his partisans attacked the Moncada barracks, in Santiago de Cuba: the assault failed. Exiled then returned to Cuba in 1956 aboard the yacht Granma, accompanied notably by Ernesto Guevara, Castro engaged in a guerrilla war in the Sierra Maestra. After several years of fighting, Batista left power on 1 January 1959 and the revolutionaries seized it.

What there is to see

The imprint of the Revolution can be read everywhere in Havana, from the portraits of the Plaza de la Revolución to the museums and monuments that punctuate the city. After 1959, the United States broke off its relations and imposed in 1962 an embargo still in force; Cuba then turned towards the Soviet Union, until the collapse of the latter in 1991, which opened the "Special Period", a serious economic crisis. Understanding this history sheds new light on the visit of the capital.

Practical information

The memory of the Cuban Revolution can be discovered throughout the visit of Havana, notably on the Plaza de la Revolución and in the museums of the Vedado and the old town. These places can be visited according to their own hours, liable to vary; it is advisable to approach these pages of history with measure and respect.

When did the Cuban Revolution triumph?

On 1 January 1959, when Fulgencio Batista left power and the revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro seized it.

What is the Special Period?

The serious economic crisis that struck Cuba after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, its main ally.