The Cuban aristocrat with a revolutionary secret
In the 1950s, Natalia Bolivar was a rich socialite with a secret. She was an undercover urban guerrilla, using her privileged status to try to bring down the government.
In the 1950s, Cuba was run by a military dictator called Fulgencio Batista, and a wealthy elite controlled the country's resources. On the surface, Natalia Bolivar was a member of this elite. She was a rich socialite from an aristocratic family. She spent her days engrossed in the art world, studying in Havana and New York.
But she had a secret. She'd joined an underground group called the Revolutionary Directorate, made up of students who'd become urban guerillas. As the struggle against Batista intensified, Natalia took up arms, and used her high class contacts to help her cause. But when her secret was revealed, even her aristocratic roots couldn't save her from arrest and torture. First broadcast in 2019.
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
Presenter: Jane Chambers
Producer: Harry Graham
(Photo: Natalia Bolivar. Credit: Natalia Bolivar)
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