One of the pioneers of the Cuban Revolution: Vilma Espín

Vilma Espín Guillois, who took an active role in the political field, helped found the Federation of Cuban Women and promoted equal rights for Cuban women in all spheres of life.

News Center- Vilma Espín Guillois was born on 7 April 1930, in Santiago de Cuba, the second-largest city in Cuba.  Her father was a wealthy Cuban lawyer. She had four siblings. She attended Academia Pérez-Peña for primary school and studied ballet and singing at the Asociación Pro-Arte Cubano during the 1940s. In the 1950s, she studied chemical engineering at Universidad de Oriente, Santiago de Cuba. After graduating, she attended MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts to complete her post-graduate studies.

She was responsible for political work

Vilma Espín joined the 26th of July Movement when she returned from the US to Cuba through Mexico. A meeting with revolutionary leader Frank País led her to become a leader of the revolutionary movement in Oriente province. She met the Castro brothers who had relocated to Mexico after their failed armed attack on the Moncada Barracks in July 1953 and were released from prison in 1955. She acted as a messenger between the Julio 26 Movement in Mexico and Pais back in Cuba. She then went on to assist the revolutionaries in the Sierra Maestra mountains after the 26th of July Movement's return to Cuba on the Granma yacht in November 1956. After the victory of the Cuban Revolution, she was married to Raúl Castro in January 1959.

She helped found the Federation of Cuban Women

Vilma Espín was an outspoken supporter of gender equality in Cuba. She helped found the Federation of Cuban Women and became the president of the federation. She also worked hard to pass the Cuban Family Code in 1975. She served as a member of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party from 1965 to 1989.

She fought homophobia

Vilma Espín also fought homophobia. While Cuba's current constitution was being drafted, she advocated for the concept of marriage to represent the “union among people”.

Tomorrow: Celia Sánchez: The heart of the Cuban Revolution