Some have silver hair, others are younger. All share a deep love, respect, and admiration for Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.

Through heartfelt anecdotes about how he uniquely shaped their lives, Georgina Leyva Pagán, Nélida Quintero Martínez, Margarita Mayeta Hierrezuelo, and Belinda Sánchez Ramírez shared memories that deeply moved those attending the colloquium organized by the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), in honor of the 99th anniversary of the birth of the Historic Leader of the Cuban Revolution.

At the Fidel Castro Ruz Center, history flowed like crystal-clear water, sparking smiles and even a few tears. These Cuban women, through their actions, have remained loyal to Fidel’s ideals, to the FMC—an organization founded 65 years ago—and to its eternal president, Vilma Espín.

Part of the Family

The first panelist was Georgina, or Gina as everyone calls her—a fighter in the clandestine struggle and the Rebel Army, and inseparable companion of the late Commander Julio Camacho Aguilera. She described Fidel as if he were part of her family. “On a day like this, in 1958, I met him in the Sierra Maestra, but it felt like we had known each other for many years.”

“He already knew who we were. He placed his hand on our shoulders and asked, ‘How are you?’ That’s something you do with a brother. And in that moment, I saw Fidel as my brother in struggle, sacrifice, strength, and patriotism.”

“From that moment on, every time he saw us, he gave us a hug and said, ‘Look who’s here.’ There are gestures in life that settle into your heart and always leave a mark,” she affirmed.

She emphasized how Fidel gave women the opportunity to be part of the armed struggle and approved, on September 4, 1958, in the Sierra Maestra, the idea of creating a female platoon named after Mariana Grajales.

She believes that the empowerment women enjoy today was made possible by the Revolution many years ago. “The Federation still has ideological and practical battles to fight,” she asserted.

She highlighted the importance of the Fidel Castro Ruz Center, calling it a symbolic monument of great value and prestige, where the country’s wisdom is being preserved. “It will be an infinite source of knowledge and experience for future generations. Young people must come on their own to drink from this Center, to see who Fidel was and how he thought. Each of us saw him through our own lens—through our intelligence, through our feelings,” she concluded.

Convinced of Victory

Nélida Quintero, who for many years served as the general secretary of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) in Havana, was deeply involved in the programs of the Battle of Ideas led by Fidel, which entered an intense phase starting December 5, 1999, with the goal of bringing young Elián González back to Cuba.

She recalled the marches demanding that the U.S. government return the child. “Fidel watched all of them on television and noticed the strong presence of women, grandmothers, children… Eventually, in coordination with Vilma, the idea of organizing the Women’s March emerged.”

“That night, Fidel was waiting for us, and I remember he asked me how I saw the preparations for the mobilization; he had faith in the impact of that march. I told him everything we had done, the support from all political and mass organizations. Then he asked if I was willing to appear on the final news broadcast to speak.”

“He told us, ‘I’ll be watching you through a little window.’ It was very moving for him to see 200,000 women marching. He was convinced that after that demonstration, Elián’s return was inevitable,” she added.

During her talk, she mentioned the book Women and Revolution, compiled by Yolanda Ferrer and Carolina Aguiar Ayerra. “It’s a gem, and I encourage you to read it. It gathers Fidel’s speeches from 1959 to 2005. In them lies the essence of the Commander-in-Chief’s views on women’s participation in the Revolution.”

Fidel Was and Still Is an Inspiration

The intervention by former star volleyball player Margarita Mayeta, a celebrated figure in Cuban sports and a member of the first generation of the “Morenas del Caribe,” was lively and engaging.

Originally from San Luis, in Santiago de Cuba, she recalled her beginnings as an athlete, her participation in the First School Sports Games in 1963, and many other events that led to her rise to the national team, culminating in a gold medal at the 1971 Pan American Games in Cali.

“The first time I saw Fidel was in 1964, but from a distance. Then in 1970, at the Central American Games held in Panama, we dominated and won the silver medal. We traveled there and back by ship. I’ll never forget that we were dancing to Pacho Alonso’s orchestra when suddenly we saw people running. Someone shouted that a shark was coming because something was stirring in the water. It was the torpedo boats! Fidel, Almeida… they had come to greet us.”

“In 1971, we were in Colombia for the Pan American Games. The president of Inder at the time called the team captains to speak with the Commander. When it was my turn, he asked what we were going to do. I told him we were going to win, that the medal was for him, and he replied, ‘Captain, you know what you’re saying.’”

“I ran back to my teammates and said, ‘We’re in hot water now—Fidel says we have to bring home the gold.’ We were sweating, saying, ‘We can’t lose now…’ The date coincided with Fidel’s birthday. That day, we won the gold medal. Fidel was an inspiration—and he still is,” she concluded.

Being a Fidelista Is Being a Revolutionary

“I say that being a Fidelista is being a revolutionary—you can’t be a revolutionary in Cuba without being a Fidelista,” declared Belinda Sánchez Ramírez, Director of Immunology at the Center for Molecular Immunology (CIM) and member of the National Committee of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC).

“Since I was a child, I believed Fidel was my grandfather—he was part of the family,” she noted.

The renowned researcher shared that her first encounter with Fidel happened while she was at an agricultural camp as part of her university activities. “I was in charge of the camp. It was a Sunday, and many had already left on their own, since we were departing the next day. Suddenly, someone came into the dorm and said, ‘Run, the Commander is here!’ Total chaos broke out. Seeing him was overwhelming—he was huge, towering… the professors urged me to speak, but I was speechless, I couldn’t. It took effort to begin, but once I did, I told him about what we were doing and everything that wasn’t working.”

“I started voicing complaints, because when you saw him, it felt like he had the solution to everything. Wherever people saw a problem, they’d say, ‘If only Fidel would come by here,’” she added.

“Thanks to his vision, in the midst of the Special Period, the CIM was inaugurated in 1994. The Commander thought far ahead, with the belief that we could reach any goal—we just had to set our minds to it. That way of thinking is what made it possible for us to respond the way we did when the pandemic arrived.”