Synopses & Reviews
With vivid, unfiltered, photographs, an insider tells the story of the Cuban Revolution as it unfolds.and#160;Teofilo Babanduacute;n Sr., a wealthy Santiago de Cuba businessman and logging camp owner, sensed that the small skirmish near his sawmill involving a ragtag band of guerrillas and the Cuban military was the beginning of something historic. Babanduacute;n befriended Fidel Castro, the leader of the rebels, and negotiated access for his company photographer to Castroandrsquo;s inner circle. Years later Babunandrsquo;s son, Teofilo Jr., would come across these photos among his fatherandrsquo;s belongings, and he now makes them available in this eyewitness account of the Cuban Revolution.and#160;The photographs of Josandeacute; andldquo;Chilinandrdquo; Trutie capture everythingandmdash;the Revolutionandrsquo;s soldiers and firing squads, President John F. Kennedyandrsquo;s 1962 address in Miami to Cuban exiles, and Brigade 2506, the liberation army that sought to overthrow Castro. These images, most of them never before seen, vividly document the inner life of a revolution with candid images of rebels dining together, jeeps moving through rustic, muddy camps, and Fidel Castro and Ernesto andldquo;Cheandrdquo; Guevara walking side by side in a reflective moment. Trutie and his camera also catch the tragic side of revolutionary activityandmdash;burning sugar mills, jungle hospitals, and corpses with pockets turned inside-out, lying in open graves. These raw photos, combined with the narrative text of Teo A. Babanduacute;n Jr. and Cuban-American historian Victor Triay, offer a one-of-a-kind perspective on the complex story of the Cuban Revolution.and#160;
Synopsis
With vivid, unfiltered, photographs, an insider tells the story of the Cuban Revolution as it unfolds. Teofilo Babun Sr., a wealthy Santiago de Cuba businessman and logging camp owner, sensed that the small skirmish near his sawmill involving a ragtag band of guerrillas and the Cuban military was the beginning of something historic. Babun befriended Fidel Castro, the leader of the rebels, and negotiated access for his company photographer to Castro's inner circle. Years later Babun's son, Teofilo Jr., would come across these photos among his father's belongings, and he now makes them available in this eyewitness account of the Cuban Revolution. The photographs of Jose "Chilin" Trutie capture everything--the Revolution's soldiers and firing squads, President John F. Kennedy's 1962 address in Miami to Cuban exiles, and Brigade 2506, the liberation army that sought to overthrow Castro. These images, most of them never before seen, vividly document the inner life of a revolution with candid images of rebels dining together, jeeps moving through rustic, muddy camps, and Fidel Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara walking side by side in a reflective moment. Trutie and his camera also catch the tragic side of revolutionary activity--burning sugar mills, jungle hospitals, and corpses with pockets turned inside-out, lying in open graves. These raw photos, combined with the narrative text of Teo A. Babun Jr. and Cuban-American historian Victor Triay, offer a one-of-a-kind perspective on the complex story of the Cuban Revolution.
About the Author
Teo A. Babanduacute;n Jr. is a frequent guest commentator with CBS, CNN, CNBC, CBN, the BBC, and the German Television Network. His articles have appeared in the Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and The Americas Business Journal. He is also the national executive director of ECHO-Cuba, a nonprofit effort to provide humanitarian aid in Cuba.and#160;Victor Andres Triay, whose parents left Cuba in 1960, grew up in Miami, Florida. He is a Cuban-American historian and the author of several books, including Fleeing Castro: Operation Pedro Pan and the Cuban Childrenandrsquo;s Program (UPF) and Bay of Pigs: An Oral History of Brigade 2506 (UPF), which won the Florida Historical Societyandrsquo;s Samuel Proctor Oral History Award. A frequent guest speaker on Cuba and Cuban-Americans, he has appeared on CNN, Fox News Network, and C-Span.