$1,500
Estimate: $1,200 - $1,800
The Collection of Victor Niederhoffer part II
Auction: September 19, 2019 11:00:00 AM EDT
Sierra Maestra, Cuba, Sep.(tember) 22-(19)58. 8vo, two pages, in Spanish. Autograph letter, signed in ink "Fidel" to "Pedro Luis" (Diaz Lanz). Lightly toned; minor chipping to edges; creasing from original folds; signature dark and clear.
5 3/4 x 4 in. (15 x 10cm) (sight).
Unexamined out of double-paned glass frame. Framed with an accompanying photograph of Castro.
[Translated from the Spanish]: "Pedro Luis: Yesterday we recieved a message from Zoilo. In order to save time, I responded in accordance with the facts Faustino gave me, that the runway measured 40 meters wide and 1000 meters in length, and was approximately 10 kilometers southwest of Cienaguilla. That a plane similar to the one that was destroyed could land there. If my response seems right, nothing else is needed. I am en route to Las Vegas. I hope to see you before I leave. I should be there at the latest on Wednesday. I have ten thousand pesos that I want to send you, and see if Lorié comes. Fidel"
Written during the Cuban Revolution, Castro addresses his future Chief of the Revolutionary Air Force and personal pilot Pedro Luis Diaz Lanz. Diaz Lanz served in a variety roles during the revolution, running weapons from the U.S. to Castro's troops and transporting Manuel Urrutia, the future President of Cuba, into the mountainous region Sierra Maestro in southeast Cuba. Castro's base of operations was in this region, and not long before writing this letter he and his small cadre of guerrilla fighters repelled a large advance of troops by Fulgencio Batista, Cuba's ruling military dictator. Diaz Lanz later defected to the U.S. after a falling out with Castro over his removal from command of the air force due to his opposition of the influence of communists in the new revolutionary government.