A testimony of José Alberto León Lemus, Fidel's chauffeur and bodyguard during the early years of the Revolution, will be presented today in the 31st Havana International Book Fair.

Leon Lemus’s merits earned him the right to be part of the Caravan of Freedom that Fidel led from eastern Cuba to Havana in January 1959.

“The news surprised me, because at last I was going to meet Fidel in person, as I always hoped,” says the author, who was in the Officers Club of the province of Holguin when they told him. “The locals knew that Fidel was there and were waiting outside to see him, so it was hard for us to make our way, but it was just the prelude to what was to come during the road trip.”

It was precisely Fidel who recommended him to write his memoirs as a man of humble origins who engaged in the liberation struggle as a teenager, joined the Rebel Army in the mountains and, after the Revolution, traveled abroad and fulfilled international missions.

“This book grants readers the privilege of knowing the type of relationship that Fidel established with the men who had the extremely important responsibility of guaranteeing his personal security and understanding why they admired and respected him so much,” Leon Lemus concluded.