For the first time, Cuban banknotes feature the faces of women, Mariana Grajales and Celia Sánchez.
14ymedio, Havana, March 31, 2026 – Mariana Grajales and Celia Sánchez will be the first female faces to appear on Cuban banknotes starting this Wednesday, when the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) puts into circulation new denominations that have emerged driven by inflation. Grajeles, the mother of Antonio and José Maceo will appear on the 2,000 peso notes, while the guerrilla fighter Celia Sánchez Manduley, who was already present in the watermark of the 200, 500, and 1,000 peso notes, will now take center stage on the 5,000 peso notes.
The new banknotes of this very high denomination will begin circulating this Wednesday in the capital and will gradually extend to the rest of the country, the BCC announced. The 2,000 peso notes will appear somewhat later, although the official report does not provide exact dates.
“The issuance of the new banknotes aims to facilitate cash transactions, respond to the real needs of the economy that demands large amounts of cash, helping to reduce costs related to cash logistics and to gain agility in operations in the current moments of inflation the country is experiencing,” the statement emphasizes, published in all official media.
The bank has described with precision each of the new banknotes, both measuring 150 by 70 millimeters and made of special security paper for their function. The 2,000 peso notes will be pink and violet, while the 5,000 peso note is blue. Both will carry the watermark of Celia Sánchez, like their high-value predecessors.
Other details include the integration of two additional security features: a vertical thread and the mariposa — the national flower — on both the front and back, which will have a rainbow movement effect.
The initials of the BCC, the signature of the bank’s president, Juana Lilia Delgado Portal, and other embossed elements will characterize the new denominations, which will also each feature a commemorative set. The 2,000 peso bill shows the monument to Mariana Grajales in Santa Ifigenia Cemetery, while the 5,000 peso bill will feature the monument to Celia Sánchez Manduley in Lenin Park.
The BCC has provided all the essential details to identify the validity of the two banknotes, although it does not reveal the amount invested in issuing these new denominations.
The expert then spoke of the possibility that China might print the Cuban banknotes, although he also pointed to the Russian option, a manufacturer that supplies many countries.
Since 2023, the need for higher-value denominations had become evident, since for foods as common as a carton of eggs, more than three banknotes of the highest denomination were required. However, the shortage of paper currency to produce them was so evident that the State acknowledged having problems printing.
At that time, the issuance of more 100 peso banknotes was announced, but with new paper that would circulate simultaneously with previous versions but without the raised print or the Braille system.
“With inflation and devaluation, more banknotes are needed to buy the same product or service, or new banknotes with higher denominations, and this is where the cost of printing paper money and the decision about banknotes with denominations higher than 1,000 come in,” explained Cuban economist Pedro Monreal at the time.
The expert then spoke of the possibility that China might print the Cuban banknotes, although he also pointed to the Russian option, a manufacturer that supplies many countries. The Asian option was one of the most economical in the world, where each banknote costs between 0.05 and 0.10 cents of a dollar. Monreal already warned at that time that it would be necessary, in any case, to consider replacing the denominations that would substitute the current ones that had “become obsolete due to inflation and devaluation,” although that “would imply an outlay of millions of dollars.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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