Conrado Castillo Rodríguez: a courageous revolutionary

Photo: Internet Conrado Castillo Rodríguez was an inspiring figure for the Ariguanabense fighters. He participated in student demonstrations and was a clandestine fighter against the dictatorship of Batista, so he was persecuted and imprisoned.

He was in the first rank ready to take up arms to defend the revolutionary cause in his native town of San Antonio de los Baños and in Havana. At the age of 15, he enrolled in the Havana Institute and then entered the Normal School for Teachers, where he was secretary of the Normalista Student Association and was linked to the political and social activities of the students.

He was leader of the Ariguanabo Students Association, which brought together the most radical young people in the fight against corrupt governors, ready to participate in any action against tyranny. Conrado directed the newspaper "Venceré" and was a founding member of the 26^th of July Movement in San Antonio de los Baños.

He participated in demonstrations against the government of Fulgencio Batista, and in sabotages; For which he was imprisoned on several occasions. In 1957, he had to emigrate to the United States, where he continued to serve the cause of the rebel movement in Cuba.
Conrado Castillo's devotion to the revolutionary work begun on January 1, 1959 was total. He was member of the 26^th of July Movement in San Antonio de los Baños, delegate of the Ministry of Education and administrator of the Fiscal Zone. He was founder and head of the Revolutionary National Militias in the locality and the first secretary of the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations, in the region. He developed different responsibilities in the municipal secretariat of the Communist Party of Cuba and in the Government. He studied Juridical Sciences and directed the judicial court of San Antonio de los Baños.

Writing about Conrado Castillo Rodríguez is to refer to Marxist ideas in San Antonio de los Baños, a commitment to which he devoted much of his life. He was born on July 26, 1934, a very significant day for the Cubans, as it represents the beginning of the armed struggle in the final stage of the national liberation war. True to his principles and committed to the Homeland, he asserted his conviction that "Every future time has to be better." He was granted the medals "Founder of the Communist Party" and "Fighter of the Clandestinity".