The father who “brought us all to life”
Communist Party of Cuba First Secretary and President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez today honored the birth on this date 203 years ago, of the nation’s father, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, and 115 years ago of the Chancellor of Dignity, Raúl Roa, tweeting, “Their human values, their patriotism and Cuban identity, make latter the heir of the first, and all of us their heirs

“Author: Mailenys Oliva Ferrales | informacion@granmai.cu
april 19, 2022 08:04:23

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOTO: Artwork by Amaury de Jesús Palacios.
It was the night of Sunday, April 18, 1819, when in an aristocratic mansion in the colonial city of Bayamo, a man was born to be a landholder by family inheritance, who instead, against all odds, would become “the first among Cubans able to give his country and his compatriots both a homeland and honor.”
With his own resources, he challenged a colonial power far superior in military forces and weapons, able to unite the rich and the poor to wage war in the scrub, calling slaves “brothers” for the first time, turning his family sugar mill into a altar of freedom. Thus, with the responsibility of an entire people on his shoulders, he became the eternal Father of the Nation.
In that human volcano that, as Martí said, “… brought us all to life,” Cuba has an example of dignity and decorum that we cannot ignore in any of our daily battles.
To this day, at a time when imperialism continues to interfere with an economic war and hateful campaigns, Céspedes’ response – more than a century and a half ago – serves us well: “Our motto is and will always be: Independence or death. Cuba must not only be free, but never again enslaved.”