Melba Hernández

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Melba Hernandez
Las Villas
Died9 March 2014(2014-03-09) (aged 92)
Havana, Cuba
NationalityCuban
Occupation(s)politician and diplomat

Melba Hernández Rodríguez del Rey (28 July 1921 – 9 March 2014) was a Cuban politician and diplomat. She served as the Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam and to Cambodia.[1]

Life

Born in

Moncada Barracks
assault. Although she had been practicing law for a decade, during the Moncada trial she chose not to defend herself, as Fidel Castro did, and was instead represented by Jorge Paglieri Cardero. She was sentenced to 7 months in prison. She was later declared "Heroina del Moncada". In the early 1960s, she was in charge of women's prisons in Cuba.

She had been a Deputy in the

OSPAAAL
(Organization of Solidarity of the People of Asia, Africa & Latin America).

She was married to Jesús Montané Oropesa, a top aide to Fidel Castro, until his death in 1999.

She died of complications from diabetes on 9 March 2014.[5]

Cuban Revolution

Melba Hernandez was an active member of the Cuban revolution. She was one of the best-known women that fought alongside Fidel Castro in the Cuban Revolutionary war against Fulgencio Batista. Melba met Fidel in 1952 after going to a demonstration at a grave of a worker who was killed by Batista’s thugs, there she met Abel Santamaría who later introduced them.[6] Melba was involved with an underground organization led by Fidel Castro before the July 26th attack[7] and joined the revolution because she was attracted to the insurrection against President Fulgencio Batista.[8] She later became one of the four staff members of Fidel Castro.

26 of July Movement

Melba Hernandez was one of the women who participated in the

Moncada Barracks.[9] As a woman, Melba had to fight to be included in the attack, she took a stand on being a part of the assault as she played a part in the group.[10] Fidel Castro, the leader of the attack, was against women fighting in the attack, but after Melba’s request to be included, a settlement was made in which she and Haydée Santamaria would act as nurses in the assault.[10] She rode into the fight with one of the columns headed to take over the barracks.[10] She was able to make it to the barracks and was a part of a group that gained control of a hospital.[11] During the charge, Melba and Haydee stood by waiting to provide medical assistance to fellow soldiers.[12] Ultimately the attack failed and Fidel Castro, Melba Hernandez, Haydée Santamaria, and the remaining survivors of the attack were arrested. After being arrested Melba and others who were involved in the July 26 assault were interrogated and tortured to release information, Melba however remained silent.[13]
The Batista government sentenced Fidel Castro to 15 years in prison since he was the leader of the attack, and Melba and Haydée were sentenced to 7 months in prison.

Melba and Haydée were sentenced to the National Prison for Women, in Guanajay

Granma.[2] She then returned to Cuba where she joined a rebel army in the ranks of “Mario Muñoz Monroy” Third Front, ran by Juan Almeida Bosque.[15]
Later, Melba Hernández was given the name "Heroine of the Cuban Revolution" for her actions during the Cuban Revolutionary war.

After the Cuban Revolution

Melba Hernandez took a role in the new government run by Fidel Castro. She became the head of the Cuban Committee in Solidarity with Vietnam in the 1960s to 1970s. She was the ambassador to Vietnam and Cambodia in the 1980s. She was the vice president of the Anti-Imperialist Tribunal of Our America, the secretary general of Organization in Solidarity with the People of Asia, Africa, and Latin America (OSPAAL), director of the Communist Party's Center for Asian Studios, and deputy in Cuba's National Assembly between 1976 and 1986 and was re-elected in 1993.[6]

References

  1. ^ Melba Hernández Rodríguez del Rey Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c d "Melba Hernández Rodríguez del Rey". Cubanos Famosos (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  3. ^ de la Cova, Antonio, "The Moncada Attack: Birth of the Cuban Revolution". University of South Carolina Press, 2007, p. 34
  4. ^ Martin, Douglas (16 March 2014). "Melba Hernandez, 92, confident of Castro, from first volley, is dead". New York Times.
  5. ^ Rodriguez, Andrea (10 March 2014). "Melba Hernandez, a 'heroine of the Cuban Revolution,' dies at 92". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  6. ^ a b "The Militant - March 31, 2014 -- Melba Hernández: Combatant and leader of Cuban Revolution". www.themilitant.com. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Haydée and Melba: The Women of Moncada". en.granma.cu. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Melba Hernandez | Cuban revolutionary". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  9. ^ "Melba Hernandez | Cuban revolutionary". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  10. ^ a b c Shaffer, Alysia. "What Women Want: Emancipation, Cuban Women, and the New Man Ideology".
  11. JSTOR 41800548
    .
  12. ^ a b ivetteromero (11 March 2014). "Melba Hernández, Leading Figure of the Cuban Revolution, Dies". Repeating Islands. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  13. JSTOR 24487878
    .
  14. ^ "Melba Hernandez, a 'heroine of the Cuban Revolution,' dies at 92". Washington Post. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  15. ^ Staff, Liberation. "Cuban heroine of Moncada, Melba Hernández dies – Liberation News". Retrieved 22 November 2021.

Sources

  • Deltona Beach Morning Journal; Plead In; 30 September 1953
  • PBS; American Experience | Fidel Castro | People & Events; 21 December 2004
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