notebook

Archive

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

notebook

Entry/Object ID

2025.1.383

Scope and Content

Blank notebook with handwritten cover meant to serve as a medical-service (dispensary) record/dossier. Edges worn and chipped. The text identifies the unit, station, date, and personnel of a revolutionary-militia health post, closing with the national slogan. No printed matter or maker's mark; entirely manuscript.

Context

The document is an empty notebook meant to serve as a dispensary (first-aid post) record of the Cuerpo de Sanidad (Health/Medical Corps) of the Milicias Nacionales Revolucionarias (M.N.R.) — "Servicio Especial – Dispensario" — at the Central Manuel Martínez Prieto, the Havana sugar mill formerly named Toledo. The mill was nationalized after 1959 and renamed for Manuel Martínez Prieto, a Toledo union leader killed by Batista's forces in 1958. It is dated 31 December 1960, with "Enero de 1961 / Año de la Educación" (1961 was officially the Year of Education, the literacy-campaign year). Per the holder, the owner; Leopoldo Arús Gálvez, used it while deployed as a militiaman (miliciano) at this sugar mill in the months before the Bay of Pigs (Playa Girón, April 1961) — a period of intense militia mobilization. The document records the medical unit's staffing: a doctor, a nurse, and two health orderlies (sanitarios).

Collection

The Cabrera Arús family collection, Leopoldo Arús Gálvez collection

Acquisition

Accession

2025.1

Archive Details

Creator

Leopoldo Arús Gálvez

Date(s) of Creation

12/31/1960 - 1/1961

Primary Language

Spanish

Archive Notes

Place: Central Manuel Martínez Prieto (formerly Toledo), Los Quemados, Marianao, Havana, Cuba. Inscription: "Cuerpo de Sanidad M.N.R. / Servicio Especial – Dispensario / Central Manuel Martínez Prieto (Toledo) / – 31 Diciembre 1960 – / Unidad N° 1 / MÉDICO: Dr. Leopoldo Arús Gálvez / ENFERMERO: Manuel Martínez Gil / SANITARIOS: Lysicles Lima Costales [and] Miguel Tosca Valle / Enero de 1961 / Año de la Educación / Patria o Muerte / ¡Venceremos!"

Dimensions

Height

23 cm

Width

18 cm

Depth

0.4 cm

Parts

One notebook

Condition

Overall Condition

Fair

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Leopoldo Arús Gálvez

Notes

owner, creator

Person or Organization

M.N.R.

Person or Organization

Central Toledo

Related Places

Place

City

Havana

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Related Events

Event

Bay of Pigs

Research Notes

Notes

Dr. Leopoldo Arús Gálvez (médico); Manuel Martínez Gil (enfermero); Lysicles Lima Costales and Miguel Tosca Valle (sanitarios).

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

May 16, 2022

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 18, 2026