I express my deepest gratitude to the personnel at the Archivo Nacional,
the Instituto de Historia, and the Biblioteca Nacional “José Martí” in
Havana; the Universidad Central de Las Villas in Santa Clara; the Archivo Histórico Provincial de Cienfuegos; the Archivo Municipal de Trinidad; and the Archivo Histórico Provincial de Santiago de Cuba. At the
Archivo Nacional, Julio López in particular offered critical assistance. At
the Instituto de Historia, the support of Hernán Venegas Delgado and
Lilián Vizcaíno was absolutely essential, and my work would not have
been possible without their abundant generosity. At the Biblioteca Nacional, Nancy Machado and Lísia Prieto were especially of great help,
and the stalwart presence of Walterio Carbonell made each day vibrant. I
am also forever indebted to those who welcomed me into their homes:
Luis René and Mercedes, and their son Luis Carlos, in Havana; Rosalba
and Clemente in Cienfuegos; Nohemia and Hernán in Casilda; Barbarita
and William, and their daughter Graciela, and Oneida, Mari, and Frank
all in Trinidad; and Yolanda and Juan in Santiago. The compañeras and
compañeros who offered other crucial assistance during my times in Cuba
are too numerous to name, and many of them helped me even though we
had never formally met. I also thank the personnel at the Library of
Congress in Washington, DC, and the National Archives in College Park,
Maryland; the Hoover Institution Archives at Stanford University; and,
of course, the personnel at the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas at Austin, especially Margo Gutiérrez