The need to remember the lineage and image of a warrior woman is summarized in the words written by the National Poet Nicolás Guillen: “… talk about her life so that Cuba does not ignore her … so we can remember and respect her, all her love to this grateful Homeland, which surely has not wanted to forget her ”.

With that tribute the poet invited you to learn about a woman who, in addition to taking care of many wounded during the two wars, became Captain of the Liberation Army. I am referring to Rosa Castellanos Castellanos, better known as Rosa la Bayamesa.

Her origins

She was born a slave in a barracks in the town of El Dátil, Bayamo, in 1834, considered at the time the most rebellious area of ​​the country. That was the place where she carried out her first acts of rebellion and joined the Liberation Army, from the beginning of the war of 1868; feat that put an end to the silence of the colonial exploitation of Spain in this Caribbean island.

After 30 years of servitude and freed from slavery, she decides to follow her masters on the path of the libertarian fight, initially settling in one of the prefectures located in Sierra Maestra.

Soon that tall and strong woman was called La Bayamesa. She became a skilled nurse, organized field hospitals, although she also wielded the machete and the rifle with great skill in her war forays.

Later, she settled in Sierra de Najasa. There she prepared a hospital in a cave on the hill of Polvorín. Her legend spread through the city of Camagüey and began to be called Rosa La Bayamesa, as a way to differentiate her for her birthplace.

It was in Camagüey lands that Rosa Castellanos definitely entered the history of Cuba, as one of its most fantastic myths and one of the imperishable examples of sacrifice and consecration, not only in the care of the sick, but also in the fight and defense of the Cuban nation.

The name of a central street in the city reminds us of that Rosa from the battle fields of Camagüey, turned into an infirmary legend and an example of the warrior woman, who put light in her hands to attract peace.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García