The Girl of Escambray
One woman’s tragic war against Fidel Castro
Zoila Aguila Almeida was born in Placetas, Las Villas Province, Cuba in 1939.Little is known about her early life and upbringing. What is known is how she took part in the 1950s revolt against strongman Fulgencio Batista, and how she married an electrician named Manolo Munso La Guardia.
As with many a Cuban, Aguila attempted to return to a normal life with her husband after Fidel Castro seized power in 1959. However, the repression instituted by the Castro regime drove her and countless others into rebellion.
Fidel Castro faced the stiffest resistance to his regime in the Escambray Mountains throughout the 1960s. It was also here that Zoila Aguila became a legendary figure in the anti-Castro resistance.
In the Escambray
Aguila was no stranger to life as a rebel. Her experience against the Batista regime made her skilled in guerilla warfare by the age of 20. One fighter described her as a woman short in stature but fierce with a Thomspon submachine gun.
Alongside her husband, Aguila took part in several raids against Castroist forces, becoming a lieutenant and a squad leader — a rarity for women among Cuban contras.
