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Front: Antonio Maceo (1845-1896), Cuban freedom fighter

Maceo was one of the principal figures of the Cuban struggle for independence, which consisted not only of action on the fields of battle but also of the political maneuvers of Cuba, Spain, and the United States. He played a vital part in both the Ten-year war of 1868-1878, and the successful war that began in 1895, ending in 1898 after the United States had entered the struggle.

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Front: Jose Marti (1853-1895), political activist, poet, journalist and teacher

Marti was born in Cuba. He became a political activist in an early age. He was deported to Spain for his anti-government activities. Then he spent time in the U. S. where he mobilized other Cuban exiles to support the Cuban revolution. He was instrumental in founding the Cuban Revolutionary Party in 1892. Marti was shot and killed in 1895 when he launched an invasion of Cuba.

Back: Fidel Castro with rebel soldiers entering Havana

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Front: Jose Marti (1853-1895), political activist, poet, journalist and teacher

Back: Fidel Castro with rebel soldiers entering Havana

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Front: Che Guevara (1928-1967), Cuban guerrilla leader

Che Guevara was born Ernesto Guevara de la Serna in Argentina. In his youth, he studied medicine and traveled extensively throughout Latin America, where he was exposed to the poverty in which many lived. He became convinced that only revolution could remedy the region's economic inequality, leading him to study Marxism and become involved in Guatemala's social revolution.

Later, Guevara became a member of Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement that seized power in Cuba in 1959. After serving in various important posts in the new government and writing a number of articles and books on the theory and practice of guerrilla warfare, Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment revolutions elsewhere in Latin America. He was captured in Bolivia, and executed by the Bolivian Army in 1967.

Back: Guevara cutting sugar cane