Did you know that in 1959, a young lawyer named Fidel Castro became the Prime Minister of Cuba after leading a revolution against the dictator Fulgencio Batista?

The Cuban Revolution was a guerrilla movement that started in 1953 when Fidel Castro and his followers attacked the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba, aiming to overthrow Batista's government, which was supported by the United States and accused of corruption and violence. The attack failed, but Fidel Castro did not give up his fight. He was arrested, exiled to Mexico, and returned to Cuba in 1956 aboard the yacht Granma with a group of revolutionaries, including Ernesto "Che" Guevara and his brother Raul.

The guerrillas took refuge in the Sierra Maestra mountains, where they gained support from peasants and democratic sectors of Cuban society. They carried out various actions against government troops, who were losing ground and support. In 1958, the United States suspended military aid to Batista, realizing that the revolution was imminent. On January 1, 1959, Batista fled the country, and the rebels triumphantly entered Havana, the Cuban capital.

Fidel Castro was appointed Prime Minister on February 16, 1959, at the age of 32, becoming the youngest leader in the history of Cuba. He promised to implement economic and social reforms to improve the lives of the Cuban people, who suffered from poverty, inequality, and dependence on the United States. However, he faced internal and external resistance, leading him to align with the Soviet Union and adopt socialism as the political and economic model.

The Cuban Revolution marked a milestone in the history of Latin America and the world as it challenged the dominance of the United States in the region. Fidel Castro ruled Cuba until 2008 when he passed power to his brother Raul, and died in 2016, at the age of 90, leaving a controversial legacy and a living memory in the history and culture of Cuba.