Concluding the act to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the attacks on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Barracks, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, stepped up to the podium to express his unwavering faith in the value of the people of Santiago de Cuba: “I could not pass through here without saying something to you. Three or four words. I am leaving confident and hopeful that Santiago will always continue to be Santiago.”
His words encapsulated the sense of continuity which was felt throughout the ceremony commemorating such a important date for the homeland: July 26; a sensation present from the beginning, hanging in the warm morning air, when the representatives of a new generation of Cubans entered the former barracks, now a city school, led by those men who, risking their own lives, set out to achieve freedom that Saint Anne’s Day.
Participating in the celebration, in addition to Raúl, were various members of the Party Political Bureau, Council of State, Party and government authorities of the territory, members of the Granma expedition and combatants in the clandestine struggle, decorated Heroes of the Republic, Cuba solidarity friends and representatives of the people of Santiago de Cuba.
After Indio Naborí’s poem Era la mañana de la Santa Ana, was recited by an elementary school student, and the National Anthem sung, the list of those who fell in battle or were murdered under the tyranny of Fulgencio Batista – as reprisal for the courageous deeds carried out by the young Revolutionaries - was read.
Fourth grade student, Chanel de las Mercedes Chapel Rodríguez, recalled what Cuba was like before January 1, 1959 and stated that it is the duty of the new generation of Cubans to those who built the Revolution, to study, and preserve its achievements.
Internationalist doctor, Emiliano Sosa, spoke on behalf of Cuban health professionals working both in and outside the country. As a member of the Henry Reeve brigade which combated Ebola in West Africa, he recalled the tense, moments during the struggle against the epidemic, noting that it was Cuba, a small country subjected to an economic, financial and commercial blockade, that responded to the called made by the World Health Organization and set off to join the battle against an invisible enemy.
“To them (Fidel and Raúl), to our people who lived with us every minute, who suffered Félix Báez’s sickness and mourned the death of two of our compañeros; this is our homage.” It is also a tribute to the youths who attacked the Moncada Barracks, to those who fell and those who are still here, lighting up the hearts of Cuban revolutionaries and the rest of the world. To them we promise to continue perfecting the Cuban health system and reaffirm our willingness to carry out whatever task necessary, he concluded.
