The impetus of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and his determination on that October 10, 1868, when he assured that “Cuba can no longer belong to a power,” still shake.
When commemorating the 156th anniversary of the beginning of our only Revolution, in a solemn way, in the patrimonial cemetery of Santa Ifigenia, a representation of the people of Santiago de Cuba gathered for the traditional tribute to the Father of the Homeland and the National Hero.
Floral offerings on behalf of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution; Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic; Esteban Lazo Hernández, head of the Parliament; and the people of Cuba accompanied the tribute at the José Martí Mausoleum.
Another offering, on behalf of the Cuban people, was placed at the tomb of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, by students of the Camilo Cienfuegos Military School and cadets of the José Maceo Inter-arms School of the Hero City.
Likewise, from the Sacred Altar of the Homeland, the former La Demajagua sugar mill -currently a National Monument and Museum Park-, people from several generations of inhabitants from Grandma honored the founding date of the Cuban nation, which took place in that emblematic site.
There, where Céspedes, along with other patriots and their recently freed slaves, began the road to emancipation, they recalled the epic passages written that historic morning, in the presence of the Commander of the Revolution Ramiro ValdMenéndez, deputy prime minister, and the highest authorities of the Party and the Government in the province.
According to CNC TV, on the occasion, Javier Vega Leyva, president of the branch of the Union of Historians of Cuba in the territory, praised the altruism of Céspedes and the men who, together with him, marked the beginning of the road to freedom, while he called on the new generations to be imbued with the history that began to be woven in La Demajagua, with the aim of applying it in their daily actions.
The national call for the Cuban Culture Day was also presented, which will have as its most relevant event the celebration of the 30th edition of the Cuban Festivity, from October 17 to 20.
All posts by JaimeM
The brave and the cowards, The organization of Cuban artists and writers: Statement
Once again they want to divide us, to confuse us, to subdue us. The Cuban intelligentsia is heir to a solid patriotic and cultural tradition committed to social justice, educated in study, but also in the incomparable experiences of an authentic and victorious Revolution, harassed by U.S. imperialism.
Cuban culture was forged in the manigua, in the anti-Machadist struggle, in the Sierra and in the Llano, in the Girón and in literacy, in military and civil internationalism, in the heroic construction of a new world. Difficult times define peoples, and mark the character of people.
To be brave, when sailing in turbulent waters, is not to cling to the “impossible,” to shout that the ship may sink; it is to face the storm, to hold the rudder tightly while the wind and the water hit the face, and the ground leaves the feet.
To be brave, when the nation is in danger, is to face the enemy, to fight, and simultaneously, to build, to repair, to unite, to create. “Others will propagate vices,” wrote José Martí, “or dissimulate them: we like to propagate virtues.” Cowards claim the right to be tired, to think about themselves (not for themselves), to “freedom of speech,” to repeat what the enemy, apparently stronger, whispers. They invoke supposed constitutional rights to betray. They have been colonized, and enthusiastically defend the opinions and interests of their colonizers.
Their attitude is more abject if they know history and know that their main line has been, since the 19th century, the relationship between imperialism and a Homeland born of the anti-colonial and anti-imperialist Revolution; it is more vile if they have ever read Martí, Maceo, Mella, Guiteras, Martínez Villena, Roig de Leuchsenring, Fernando Ortiz, Che Guevara, Fidel.
What do they pretend, what do they expect, are not these small-minded people so ignorant to believe that freedom is in submission to the imperial master; the ephemeral applause of their mentors will fade away, there is no possible glory nor work that lasts, in apostasy.
The individual freedom we enjoy to create, to express our opinions, to think -which was possible thanks to the Revolution-, cannot be exercised to restrict the freedom of the people, and reduce or tie up national independence.
The legitimate diversity of styles, of perspectives, of looks; the doubts and certainties of our creators, the committed and critical thinking, spring from a common source: the Revolution. “The proud man believes that the earth was made to serve him as a pedestal -Martí also wrote- because he has an easy pen or a colorful word, and he accuses his native republic of being incapable and irremediable.”
We will not allow the arrogant and cowards to recode the symbols and steal our words, to disguise themselves as revolutionaries, to surrender the country, their dreams, to cancel our brief and brave history of struggles. Freedom in Cuba is the path of all: it is not achieved by those who pursue it only for themselves.
José Martí’s Centennial Generation bequeathed us a free, more just Homeland; Fidel’s Centennial Generation will defend that freedom, will extend it; it will leap over the false impossibilities to open new paths to justice. Cuban writers and artists will not allow ourselves to be confused and divided, we will never accept submission.
Cuba received the President of Vietnam
“Here we are welcoming him, the old and new friends he has in Cuba,” assured the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, after the warm embrace with which, early Thursday morning, he welcomed To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, to Cuba.
That meeting, which took place in one of the protocol rooms of the National Hotel, was the prelude to an intense work agenda that included the visit of both leaders to the Mariel Special Development Zone.
We are convinced, said the Cuban Head of State, that their visit “will mark an important milestone in the strengthening of our relations,” which have deep and historic ties.
Díaz-Canel thanked the “friend and brother” for “the gesture that one of his first international visits has been precisely to Cuba,” and also for “the strong words of unconditional support” he has expressed regarding our struggle against the unjust economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on us by the U.S. government, as well as the exclusion of Cuba from the list of nations that allegedly sponsor terrorism.
After reiterating our country’s condolences for the loss of human lives and the material damage caused in Vietnam by the recent passage of Typhoon Yagi, the Cuban dignitary ratified Cuba’s willingness to help that sister nation with a medical brigade, should it need it.
Many of the present leaders in Cuba, explained Díaz-Canel, we are from a generation that was born during the early years of the Revolution, and grew up hearing about Vietnam, and admiring the heroism of its people.
“You are an important reference for us,” said the president, who highlighted the “hard work, kindness and patriotism that distinguish the Vietnamese,” and reassured his counterpart that “Cuba’s feelings towards Vietnam are unchanging.”
The world has undergone many changes, commented President To Lam, but “the friendship and solidarity of Vietnam and Cuba will never change.”
In good times and in difficult times Cuba has been by our side, he recalled, and therefore “we will not forget the heroic support in our past struggles, and also today, although we are at two ends of the planet.”
After asserting that Cuba “has always been at the forefront of Vietnam’s foreign relations”, the friendly leader reiterated that “our position will always be to support Cuba.”
He also thanked for the messages of condolences and support expressed after the recent passage of Typhoon Yagi through his country. “We not only share the difficulties of the blockade, but also those brought about by natural disasters,” he stressed.
This visit, To Lam said, will not only allow us to develop our relations in a more efficient and practical way for the benefit of our countries, but also for the benefit of the leftist, socialist and communist movements in the world.
Hence the importance he gave, in his words, to “consolidate solidarity and mutual support.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, before the UN General Assembly
Greater political will to address the structural and moral failures of the international system that prevent progress towards a just future demanded the member of the Political Bureau of the Party and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, before the UN General Assembly.
In his speech at the Summit of the Future, the Cuban Foreign Minister reviewed the challenges facing developing nations and the need for truly profound reforms to eliminate them, Prensa Latina reported.
“The peoples need less interference and more solidarity; less unequal exchange and more equity; less politicization and double standards and more dialogue, cooperation and respect for their inalienable right to choose their political, economic, social and cultural system,” he said.
Rodríguez Parrilla reiterated that, for Cuba, the main obstacle to well-being and development is the criminal blockade of the United States and its infamous inclusion in the arbitrary and unilateral list of States that allegedly sponsor terrorism.
In his words, he stressed that “our futuristic debates are taking place while the genocide in Palestine continues, without an effective response from the international community, when even the institutions and workers of the United Nations are being targeted by Israel’s fire.”
He added that, for millions of people in the global South, the possibility of a dignified future is and will remain a utopia.
“It will be difficult to believe in that promised future as long as developed countries oppose deep reform of the international financial architecture, discussions of which should be centered at the United Nations,” he said.
If these claims have been watered down in the Pact for the Future, should we believe in the promises of greater access to the resources indispensable for our development? How can we trust in the promise of peace, non-interference and multilateralism while coercion, selfishness, domination and hegemonism grow and the UN Charter and international law are violated?, the senior diplomat questioned.
As part of his agenda in New York, the Cuban Foreign Minister also participated, last Saturday, in the 5th Meeting of Cubans living in the United States.
He thanked the work of a large group of Cuban nationals who maintain their public actions in support of the elimination of the blockade and the definitive withdrawal of Cuba from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, policies that have a direct impact on the quality of life and the purchasing power of families. He also recognized the work of associations and Cubans living in that nation for their humanitarian projects.