Teté Puebla's life is inextricably linked to Fidel Castro. It's almost impossible to have a conversation with her that doesn't revolve around the Commander-in-Chief, her closeness to him as a member of Column 1, the fact that she was the first woman to reach the Sierra Maestra, and the many daily lessons the Leader of the Revolution gave her firsthand.

Las Tunas, Cuba. - Because Teté was only 16 years old when she climbed the eastern hills and placed herself under his command. Up there, she turned 17 and then 18, first amidst the dense vegetation, and later, in the plains of Holguín and Las Tunas.

This is what she told 26 during her most recent visit to the province, while rocking contentedly during one of the assessments at the headquarters of the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution.

“The Sierra was so difficult. We barely slept. We only had one change of clothes, and the rain poured down on us. Sometimes we threw ourselves to the ground and stayed there, because the guards were in front of us. But we were all like brothers, and helped each other a lot.

“Someone would get tired, and another comrade would come by and put his backpack on top of him. There was a time, around 1957, when I was alone up there, until Celia came up."

She learned to shoot under Fidel's guidance. Teté is a founder of the Marianas platoon (September 4, 1958), and participated in the baptism of fire of that elite women's force in the Cerro Pelado battle.

The Commander sent her and three other "Marianas" to the plains in October 1958. "We arrived in Holguín on the night of the 20th and immediately joined the actions of the 26th of July Movement (M-26-7). I participated in the liberation of Puerto Padre; also in La Cadena, a place where residents had to pay 0.50 cents to pass through before that day."

Teté learned from Fidel that no one is abandoned, ever. That's why she was responsible for caring for the families of the rebels, the descendants of Batista's guards and Masferrer's hitmen, people who had killed nearly 20,000 people and whose loved ones were protected like treasures.

From the Leader's side, she learned the value of constant work without schedules or excuses of any kind. She has taught that to her three children, her entire family, faithfully and aware that every day it is possible to do a little bit for everyone else.