When was the last time you saw a replica of a museum object being paraded through the streets to the sound of cheering crowds? The boat, used by the Castro brothers and their small revolutionary force to land on Cuba in 1956, is kept in a specially built memorial to the landing at the museum, in central Havanna. It’s treasured by Cubans as a symbol of the spirit of the revolution against the US-backed Batista regime. And on special days, a copy is even taken out and about to meet the people (shown here in 2017).  

Granma, with its strangely affectionate name, is a reasonable sized boat, designed to hold 12 people. But 82 men crammed onto her for the week-long crossing from Mexico. Without that voyage, many believe the revolution could not eventually have started in the way it did.