The Cuban revolution: a myth was born

In a time of intense cold war, Cuba, located less than 250 kilometres away from Florida, is going to turn in favour of a small revolutionary group after a fight which seemed to be lost.
Coming from a wealthy family, Fidel Castro is the leader of this guerrilla. After his law studies, during which he has been known to get involved in some movements of revolts, the young Fidel starts the politics and presents himself to the legislative elections of 1952. In the same time, the former Cuban president, the general Fulgencio Batista takes back the power after a coup and sets up his dictatorship in cancelling the electoral process. Fidel Castro sues Batista for violation of the constitution without success. He decides then to prepare a violent action. The 26th of July 1953, the attack of the military barracks in Moncada fails and ends up in blood. Some tens of the attackers die in this operation. Fidel Castro and his half brother are condemned to 15 years of prison. Fidel Castro justifies himself in a book called “History will acquit me”, where he exposes the raisons of his actions and his political thesis.
After 2 years of jail, the Castro and their comrades are liberated during an amnesty wave. They decide to find exile in Mexico, a decision, which will enable one of the most important meeting of the century. They form the Movement of the 26th of July, and prepare their come back on the island in order to overthrow the dictatorship of Batista. In Mexico, Fidel Castro meets Ernesto Guevara, a young Argentinean doctor close to the revolutionary circles of South American extreme left. After a night of talk, the Che thinks he has found in Fidel an inspired revolutionary leader and decides to join their group. The 82 members of the Movement of the 26th of July go back to Cubathe 2nd of December 1956 on the pleasance boat Granma, which unloads in the south-east of the island. The army of Batista was waiting for them and less than 20 of them manage to escape and hide in the mountains of the Sierra Maestra. This handful of rebels, the brothers Castro and Ernesto Guevara among them, manage to group some hundreds of men from the rural population. These rebels called “barbudos” (bearded men), lead a guerrilla against a regular army with more effectives during 2 years.
The decisive battle is won by the column headed by the Che in Santa Clara. After this defeat, Batista flees away and Castro enters in triumph in La Havane the 8th of January 1959. The officials of the former regime are imprisoned or executed, under the authority of the “Supreme Prosecutor” Ernesto Guevara, and the castrist power is establishing. Cuba becomes then the symbol of the revolutionary hope in the 20th century.