Sánchez was born in Media Luna, Oriente, Cuba, but eventually moved to Pilón, Cuba. Her father was a doctor, Dr. Manuel Sánchez, and she grew up in relative affluence. Her mother, Acacia, died early in her childhood. At age six she started suffering with neurosis. She was one of eight children. She was very well-educated but never attended university. After high school, Sanchez continuously helped with her father's practice until she began to focus on the Cuban Revolution alongside Fidel Castro. Her father's occupation as a doctor and working with him, provided her with a cover and connections to become a discreet member of the 26th of July Movement.
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was a movement organized to overthrew Fulgencio Batista. Castro received help from Argentinian Che Guevara as well as Celia Sanchez, Frank Pais, and the Cuban People. Sánchez was a key founder of the cuban revolution and considered a heroine who would later on continue to serve in office as secretary to the presidency of the Council of Ministers and in the Department of Services of the Council of State. Sánchez joined the struggle against the Batista government following the coup of March 10, 1952. She was the founder of the 26th of July Movement in Manzanillo. At first she started as an arms runner but later began working as combatant in the Cuban Revolution. She was considered to be the 'first female guerilla of the Sierra Maestra' since she was the first woman in the revolution to ever fire a weapon. With her hard work within the movement, she became the first woman to join the guerilla and eventually become a part of the rebel army's general staff. Sánchez organized and planned the landing of the Granma as well as supplying the army with reinforcements. Sanchez worked alongside Frank Pais and Haydee Santamaria. Together with Frank País, she was one of the first women to assemble a combat squad during the revolution. She made the necessary arrangements throughout the southwest coast region of Cuba for the Granma landing, and was responsible for organising reinforcements once the revolutionaries landed. In 1957, she became the first woman to join the guerrilla army and served as messenger. Celia placed small telegrams inside a Butterfly flower, so the messages would remain secret. As a member of the general staff of the Rebel Army she supplied Che Guevara and other rebels with weapons, occasionally food and medical supplies.
Post-revolution years
During the mid to late 1960s, René Vallejo, Castro's physician since 1958, and Sanchez became the Cuban leader's two closest companions. Sánchez was bestowed with the title of Secretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and served in the Department of Services of the Council of State until her death of lung cancer in 1980. Sánchez archived many documents, letters and notes of the revolution, leading to the creation in 1964 of Oficina de Asuntos Históricos del Consejo de Estado, an institution for the preservation of historical documents. The historical documents within the institution included interviews from soldiers who fought in the guerrilla as well as letters, writings and photos. This collections of primary sources has served as the country's official archive about the Cuban Revolution. By the Cuban people, the archive has been known as el fondo de Celia.
Death
Celia Sánchez died of lung cancer on 11 January 1980 during a time of political and economic unrest, but her legacy is embedded in the Cuban national identity.
Legacy
Following the death of Celia Sánchez, Fidel Castro commemorated her life by proclaiming her symbolism to the Revolution. Castro stated in a speech outside the Hospital of Celia Sanchez Manduley dedicated to Celia Sanchez, Cubans commemorate her life due to her crucial role in the revolution by putting her name on schools, hospitals, and various community centers, from Cuba to Zimbabwe. As a matter of fact, people of Manzanillo commonly use the altar of the Caridad del Cobra Virgin as a marriage altar signifying the dedication of Celia Sánchez to the Cuban Revolution. The monument is as if Celia Sánchez is wearing a dress, stiff and enormous, like the jeweled dress worn by the Caridad Virgin. A memorial to and mausoleum for Celia Sanchez was built in Parque Lenin. However, the remains of Celia Sanchez are interred in the Colon Cemetery, Havana. The Celia Sánchez Memorial in Manzanillo also honors her name, and her face appears in the watermark on Cuban peso banknotes. Cuba continues to honor Sánchez achievements, ten years after her death, they created a coin with the value of 10 pesos. Furthermore, Celia’s memory has had a large impact far beyond the remembrance of one woman in the Cuban Revolution but rather encompasses the standards of the new Cuban national identity. Celia Sánchez paved the way for the idealism for Cuba's new woman by showing women's capabilities in the leadership, care taking and physical labor. Simplicity, modesty, femininity, selflessness, austerity and devotion are some of they key attributes of Celia Sánchez; however, these personal virtues represent much more than references to a deceased individual, but rather represents the embodiment of Cuba's new woman. Celia Sánchez revealed to the Cuban society that women are capable of balancing physical labor with care taking, strength with femininity and leadership with modesty which was a nuance during a time of gender division. Several varieties of Cuban banknotes depict Celia Sanchez as a watermark security feature.
