Cubans mourn Vilma Esp

Cuban leaders memorialized her on June 19 as remembrance gatherings took place throughout the island. Fidel Castro, in a special tribute, noted her ceaseless devotion to the cause of women’s equality. Three days later, family and co-workers interred her remains at a commemorative site near Santiago de Cuba for fallen veterans in the anti-Batista struggle.

Espín’s death sparked a flood of worldwide condolences. For Angel Guerra, writing in La Jornada, “her identification with [ideas] about women’s emancipation and the dedication and creativity with which she applied them constitute a memorable page in the history of the international revolutionary movement.”

Co-workers said Espín worked hard to promote the interests of those who she conceived as the revolution’s primary beneficiaries — Cuba’s women and children.