Fidel’s unwavering confidence in victory
The Comandante en Jefe’s unwavering confidence in victory was recalled on the 60th anniversary of the day rebel troops led by Fidel and Raúl were reunited
Author: Darelia Díaz Borrero | internet@granma.cu
december 19, 2016 09:12:47

Photo: Martínez Arias, Rafael
CINCO PALMAS, Granma.—Cinco Palmas once again celebrated its patriotism and commitment to the Revolution, precisely at this hallowed site where rebel troops led by Fidel and Raúl were reunited on December 18, 1956.
The Comandante en Jefe’s unwavering confidence in victory was recalled, and the reality that he continues to inspire the nation reaffirmed, during an event presided by Comandantes Ramiro Valdés Menéndez and Guillermo García Frías, on the 60th anniversary of this historic event which took place here, some 30 kilometers from the municipal seat, Media Luna.
Ramiro Valdés, one of 82 rebels who arrived on the Granma yacht to initiate the armed struggle for the country’s definitive independence, recalled that after the group was separated during the battle at Alegría de Pío, the survivors overcame enemy persecution in inhospitable, unknown territory, despite the deaths of 21 comrades and the capture of others.
Although the situation had become increasingly difficult, renouncing their mission was never an option, Valdés recalled, emphasizing that their tenacity and the help of campesinos in the area, including Guillermo García Frías, made possible the reunion of troops led by Fidel and Raúl, at the farm of Mongo Pérez, in Cinco Palmas.
Upon receiving Raúl’s group, and after the two brothers embraced, Fidel immediately asked about the weapons they were carrying and shouted, “Now, yes, we have won the war!”
In addition to songs, poems, and dance, also speaking at the event was Alejandro Hidalgo, president of the Federation of University Students at Granma’s School of Medical Sciences, who reiterated the commitment of younger generations to carry forward the legacy of Fidel, and vindicate the sacrifice made by martyrs and heroes of the Revolution.
Also in attendance at the event were José Ramón Balaguer Cabrera, member of the Party Central Committee Secretariat; Federico Hernández, Party first secretary in Granma and Suselys Morfa, first secretary of the Young Communists League, both members of the Central Committee

An undefeated Fidel inspires us with his example
It was not in vain that Fidel united dozens of leaders from sister countries and more than a million Cubans in Havana, moved an entire people along the funeral procession that followed the route traveled by the Caravan of Liberty in 1959 – this time in reverse – and concentrated in this heroic city more dignitaries and friends from abroad and hundreds of thousands of Cubans from the country’s eastern provinces

Massive posthumous tribute to Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro in Santiago de Cuba’s Antonio Maceo Plaza de la Revolución.

Photo: Estudio Revolución
Santiago de Cuba.—”All the glory in the world would fit within a kernel of corn,” wrote Cuba’s national hero José Martí, but today it seems that all of the glory in the world fits in a small cedar chest draped with a Cuban flag, bearing a simple inscription: Fidel Castro Ruz, with no letters indicating military rank or position, that weighed heavy in the hearts of those present in this city’s Antonio Maceo Grajales Plaza de la Revolución.
It was not in vain that Fidel united dozens of leaders from sister countries and more than a million Cubans in Havana, moved an entire people along the funeral procession that followed the route traveled by the Caravan of Liberty in 1959 – this time in reverse – and concentrated in this heroic city more dignitaries and friends from abroad and hundreds of thousands of Cubans from the country’s eastern provinces.
“I am Fidel!” was the cry that emerged from the hearts of those moved by the national anthem, because only an undefeated Comandante en Jefe, who inspires us with his example, is able to reproduce himself in men, women, and children committed to continuing his work and making his ideas their own.
As witnesses Fidel had, along with his family and brother – a comrade in all battles – a Black brother who faithfully accompanied him in ideas and action, Juan Almeida Bosque, immortalized in a sculpture on the Heredia Theater flanking the Plaza, as well as the Bronze Titan Antonio Maceo whose likeness calls us to battle.
Thus the pain, the sadness, the silence accumulated over the days since the night of November 25, were during the final tribute transformed into the determination to honor Fidel with commitment.

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