Juan José Pàjaro

Juan José Pàjaro (March 20, 1927) was a Cuban revolutionary born in Santiago del Cuba. Raised in a wealthy family, he became a key figure of the Cuban Revolution, along with Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, Raúl Castro and Huber Matos.

Early Times

Pajaro grew up in a rich family and went on studying Radio Operation Engineering at the University of Havana in 1949. In 1950 he became a member of the Partido Ortodoxo, a party who fought against government corruption for the establishment of a distinct national identity, economic independence and the implementation of social reforms. On a rally of the party he met the law-student Fidel Castro and they become close friends.

Early guerrilla activities and Arresting

Together with the Castro Brothers he planned to attack the Moncada Barracks.However, during a rally he was arrested by Batista's men shortly before the attack.
Batista made him leave Cuba for a military base in Dallas, Texas, in March 1953.

Time in the United States

Pajaro managed to get in contact with Castro who at that time was planning the Revolution. In Dallas he met different revolutionists who later went on to found the “Free Cuba Association”.At the same time, Pajaro met a young Irish woman, Gudrun Twerpman, who was a member in the Free Cuban Association.

The Revolution

In Yaguajay he was leading the column together with Comandante Camilo Cienfuegos and - with only 60 men - they fought against about 200 of Batista's men. With the help of Che Guevara's troops they managed to take over Santa Clara. Pajaro and Miguel Marlon repeatedly attacked military buildings in Cuba.On January 1 1959, finally, the Batista-Regime flew to the Dominican Republic - signifying the end of the Cuban revolution.

After the Revolution

In consequence, the Castro Brothers and Che wanted to create a socialistic state. However, they ran against Matos, who was completely against it and who fought against the communistic plans. In the middle of this conflict was Cienfuegos and - with him - Pajaro. The two of them were good friends of the Castros, especially of Fidel. After Cienfuegos died in a plane crash, Castro accused Matos and Matos accused Castro. Pjaro left Cuba for his Girlfriend, who was living in Mexico, without telling Fidel. Fidel thought that he deserted to Matos, who was in the United States at that time. Nevertheless, only few weeks later, Pajaro and Fidel had letter-contact. Pajaro told Castro that he was tired of fighting and the revolution - their goal - was achieved. He stated that he didn't agree with all of Castro's ideas but that he was sure that Cuba would become a better country under Fidel. Consequently, Fidel proclaimed the Title “Hero of the Republic of Cuba” to Pajaro. On the other hand, he sometimes made fun of Pajaro, calling him “the bird who can’t fly” (in Spanish, ' "pajaro" ' means "bird"). Pajaro then lived in Europe with his wife Gudrun Twerpman and his children. In the year 1984, the book “The Sixth Commandante” was published, which contains 300 pages of an interview with Gudrun Twerpman about her husband.