Mariana Grajales Cuello -- Cuba

The strange and unique combination of humbleness and greatness only belongs to exceptional people, like the case of Cuban Patriot Mariana Grajales Cuello, one of the most illustrious women in Cuban history

Mariana was born in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba on July 12th, 1815, the daughter of freed slaves, Jose Grajales and Teresa Cuello, immigrants from the Dominican Republic.

Under the shadow of Spanish colonialism and barbaric slavery, as a child Mariana suffered from poverty, discrimination and prohibitions imposed on people of African origin. In that hostile environment, where she saw and suffered from situations that marked those that are deprived from freedom, grew a strong, loving, rebel, working, intelligent woman and with profound patriotic convictions.

At the age of 23, Mariana married Fructuoso Regueiferos, whose early death forced her to raise, her first four children on her own, Felipe, Fermin, Manual and Justo.  She later Married Venezuelan Marcos Maceo in 1851 and had another 10 children that were raised as brave warriors consecrated to the struggle for Cuba’s independence.  She and Marcos shared with their children stories and histories of the earlier successful independence movements by other Latin American and Caribbean nations against Spain.  She and her husband also trained them in the arts of self-defense, two of her son’s, Jose and Antonio, later became generals in Cuba’s Liberation Army.

Head of one of the most influential families in the history of the emancipation process in the country, Mariana did not doubt when the sound of the La Demajagua bell announced the uprising.

On 10th October 1868 and together with her family joined the war under the slogan “Free the homeland or die for it”. As any Mambí at the time, she risked her life in the countryside, where she was an example of firmness, encouraged the rebels, attended the wounded and stood still and proud after the death of her husband, several children and other family members.  She was seen as a model for other Cuban women, risking everything for the sake of the country. At the end of 1878, Mariana Grajales migrated to Kingston, Jamaica, with her daughters and daughter in laws continued collaborating for the cause and worked tirelessly in the creation of patriotic clubs. 

She died on November 27th, 1893, Mariana was given the title “Mother of Cuba” by Havana mayor Justo Luis Pozo del Puerto, in 1957 to acknowledge and appreciation for her patriotism and work toward liberating her country.