A message from the Cuban President to workers and the people prior to May 1st

Photo: Endrys Correa Vaillant

Dear compatriots:
May 1st, International Workers’ Day is coming in tribute to those who produce and sustain life.
More than 30 years ago, after the fall of socialism in Europe, the massive celebrations of this day were limited to a few countries, Cuba among them.
With legitimate pride, today we can say that in the midst of the hardest shortages we never ceased to raise the banners of socialism.
During the following years, delegations from all over the world arrived and still arrive to celebrate the day in this small and exceptional nation where the workers rule.
They want to witness and share in the strength of our difficult, yet joyful resistance.
They do not want to miss the impressive example of this people, capable of celebrating the rights won, even under the worst economic conditions and at the same time criticizing and demanding that even with a blockade we are capable of defeating our own inadequacies and mistakes.
That is what the working class was empowered to do since the triumph of 1959, and that power was strengthened when Cuba declared itself the first socialist state in the Western hemisphere.
These days are no better than those, when utopia was an invisible horizon under the weight of the defeat of socialism in other latitudes.
Just as then we paraded celebrating the sustained power of workers and peasants, creators and artists, today we are here ready to parade to continue celebrating.
The hurricane winds of imperial power have blown and are blowing today over our economy, with more force than ever and determined to erase from the universal political map this example of daring creative resistance.
Let us demonstrate once again that we are not alive and standing because the greatest enemy of the Cuban people wanted us to be. We are alive, standing, resisting and creating by the will of Cuban men and women.
And this time with a special inspiration. May 1st marks the 25th anniversary of Fidel’s historic speech in the Revolution Square full of people, when he called on us to act with “a sense of the historical moment”, to “change everything that must be changed”, and to “emancipate ourselves by ourselves and with our own efforts”.
As Fidel said at the time: “Revolution is unity, independence, fighting for our dreams of justice for Cuba and for the world”.
Let us parade on May 1st showing the strength of unity. For our independence and our dreams of justice.
Against the blockade and fascism. Against the genocide in Gaza and against the silent genocides provoked by the sea of injustice that threatens our species.
Let us parade for the better world that Cuba wants and deserves.
See you on May 1st. in the Revolution Square!

Max Lesnik, back to his Cuba

The remains were laid to rest next to those of his wife Miriam Alvarez Lesnik, in the Mother Teresa of Calcutta garden, by his daughter Vivian Lesnik, accompanied by the Commander of the Rebel Army, José Ramón Machado Ventura. Photo: Juvenal Balán

CAlthough he will not be in his hometown, the man from Camajuaní, Villa Clara, of which he never tired of talking about; to rest in Cuba is to be safe.
That feeling was breathed in the ceremony of placement of his remains, in the Basilica of San Francisco de Asis, in which the patriot, the family man, the father devoted to his own, the friend who cultivated loyalty without calculating distances, was evoked by the president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, Fernando González Llort.
The remains of the tireless Cuban, of the revolutionary who defended the Homeland from “the entrails of the monster”, as José Martí said, were deposited together with those of his wife Miriam Álvarez Lesnik, in the Mother Teresa of Calcutta garden, by his daughter Vivian Lesnik, accompanied by the Commander of the Rebel Army José Ramón Machado Ventura.
Floral tributes from the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, and the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, accompanied the heartfelt farewell.
When speaking of Max Lesnik, one cannot fail to mention his courage and commitment to Cuba, despite the many death threats he received, said Magda Resik, first vice-president of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba. She also recalled Lesnik’s close friendship with Havana historian Eusebio Leal, whom she described as innate conspirators in favor of Cuba, which is why, as a last wish, he rests in the same place as his friend.
Present at the tribute were the members of the Political Bureau, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Teresa Amarelle Boué, Secretary General of the FMC; the member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee, José Ramón Monteagudo Ruiz, and the member of the Central Committee and Vice-Chief of its Ideological Department, Marydé Fernández López, as well as family and friends.

Message by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz

“I have fond memories of the meetings we held and I significantly appreciate your affection for the Cuban people and your personal contribution to fostering a fraternal dialogue and understanding in the relations between Cuba and the Holy See, which were strengthened during your pontificate.

Photo: José Manuel Correa

Havana, April 21, 2025.
Rest in peace, dear friend. I am deeply moved by your death.
You were a man of integrity and consistency who reciprocated with affection and goodwill the human relationship we forged. I have fond memories of the meetings we held and I significantly appreciate your affection for the Cuban people and your personal contribution to fostering a fraternal dialogue and understanding in the relations between Cuba and the Holy See, which were strengthened during your pontificate.
Your life and papacy were an example of tireless struggle in defense of peace and fraternity among peoples. Your constant concern for the pressing challenges facing humanity and his dedication and commitment to finding a viable and sustainable solution to these problems will be an example to all.
As you once said to me, I will also carry you forever in my heart.
Raúl Castro Ruz

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“Facing the sun”, in tribute to Martí

Photo: Ricardo López Hevia

BAYAMO, Granma-With a call to vindicate the transcendence of the independence and anti-imperialist ideology of José Martí, the commemorative day “Facing the Sun” began in the eastern Cuban province, on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of his fall in combat, in Dos Ríos.
The opening took place with a ceremony full of symbolism, which was attended by a representation of various social sectors. The moment was propitious to remember the importance of Marti’s legacy in the subsequent course of the revolutionary process, which had in the Generation of the Centennial the summit of its exponents.
Yudelkis Ortiz Barceló, first secretary of the Party in Granma, emphasized that “unity continues to be the strategic weapon of the Revolution, as Martí taught with the creation of the Cuban Revolutionary Party”.
He stressed the need to articulate Martí’s thought with that of Fidel Castro, in an emblematic year, on the way to the centenary of the birth of the historic leader.
The event marked the beginning of a day whose main objective is the study, deepening and socialization of Martí’s ideology, as an indispensable pillar within the Cuban patriotic tradition.
Various actions respond to this premise, such as the revitalization of Martí’s clubs, initiatives and activities related to the day in educational and work centers that will be accompanied, in turn, by a broad communication campaign.
The day of homage, which will last until May 19 with a central event in Dos Ríos, seeks to reinforce national identity and ideological formation, emphasizing that Martí is not only history: he is a compass to face today’s challenges.