Jose Alvarez was born in Antilla, Oriente, Cuba in 1940. At the age of 10, his parents sent him to a religious boarding school in Santiago de Cuba, the provincial capital. Months later, Fulgencio Batista and a small group of military officers took power by force and started a dictatorship that would last almost seven years. Despite his age, he opposed the new regime since the first day and enrolled in clandestine organizations. When Fidel Castro founded the 26 of July Revolutionary Movement in 1955, he became a member until it was disbanded by Castro himself after taking power in 1959. Almost