José Antonio Echeverría

José Antonio Echeverría
Born	July 16, 1932 Cárdenas, Matanzas
Died	March 13, 1957 Havana, Cuba
Occupation	Revolutionary
Known for	Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil
Notable work	El Ataque al Palacio Presidential

José Antonio Echeverría (July 16, 1932 in Cárdenas, Matanzas – March 13, 1957 in Havana, Cuba) was a Cuban revolutionary and student leader. The President of the Federation of University Students (Federación Estudiantil Universitaria - FEU), he was a founding member of the Directorio Revolucionario Estudantil (DRE), a militant organization that played an important role in the Cuban Revolution to oust President Fulgencio Batista. He had the nickname "Manzanita", ("Little Apple"}. He was part of the Havana Presidential Palace attack (1957) taking leading role in CMQ, Radio Reloj radio station attack which lead to his death. [1] Born to a middle-class family in Cárdenas, Echeverría enrolled at the University of Havana in order to study architecture.^[1]

Three Minutes of Truth[]

Havana Presidential Palace Attack_Echevaria's car at the University of Havana shortly before he was killed, March 13, 1957.

Echeverría and his colleagues took part in an assault at the Havana Presidential Palace and the National Radio Station of Cuba on March 13, 1957, at the time of a music program which most of the people in Havana listened to so that Echeverría's anti-Batista speech would be broadcast to the Cuban nation. Echeverría estimated that the rioters could only occupy the radio station for three minutes, therefore he had to prepare a speech that lasted three minutes at most. Echeverría finally managed to finish his speech right at the 181st second. He managed to leave the station unharmed and on the way to the University of Havana, just a few blocks away, he opened fire on a police patrol. He was killed during the shootout on the sidewalk of the north side of the university, where there is now a memorial plaque. Echeverría's speech was mentioned in the poem "Three Minutes of Truth" written by the Soviet-Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko. The Vietnamese writer Phùng Quán also wrote a short story with the same name about Echeverría's speech, and commented:

"The story about Manzana teaches me a great lesson about language arts. Even the greatest topics like reality or truth could be expressed only in 180 seconds, on condition that the author has to use his life to pay for such invaluable time."

Jose Antonio Echevarria plaque on the north side of the University of Havana

See also[]

• Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil
• Havana Presidential Palace attack (1957)
• Radiocentro CMQ Building
• Humboldt 7 massacre
• Museum of the Revolution (Cuba)
• Faure Chomón
• Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo
• Rolando Cubela Secades

References[]

Gallery[]

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  Jose Antonio Echevarria. Dead on March 13, 1957.

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  Antonio Echevarria funeral. Havana, 1957.

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  Antonio ECHEVARIA's mother. Havana, 1957.

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  Antonio Echevarria's girlfriend days after the attack. Havana, 1957.

Bibliography[]

• Quirk, Robert E. (1993). Fidel Castro. New York and London: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0393034851.

External links[]

Cuando los universitarios se levantaron contra el gobernante de Cuba (FOTOS)

Revolt in Havana. Chicago Daily Tribune. March 14, 1957.]

No Eran Estudiantes los Que Atacaron el Palacio.

Asalto al Palacio Presidencial y toma de la emisora Radio Relo on YouTube

La toma de Radio Reloj on YouTube