It was almost noon and in Central Park it seemed that the sun would not appear. The sky was gray and the puddles on the asphalt inevitably gave the site a touch of sadness. But this rainy Sunday was not just any Sunday; the tents seemed to sprout from the ground as a tribute to Martí, who looked on.
The color missing from the day was provided by the red bandanas wrapped around necks, waving in hands and from bags. Drawing to a close were the 48 hours of a sit-in with which a group of women and men, the majority young, sought to expose the dirty war against Cuba, and talk, sing, take action on the path to more socialism, more Revolution.
The November 14 initiative, called by and including a broad, diverse spectrum of the population, featured a final concert by singer-songwriter Tony Avila. The stubborn drizzle obliged participants to seek shelter in the portico of the Alicia Alonso Gran Teatro.
With the sing-along well underway, the Party Central Committee First Secretary, the President of the Republic, the Cuban, Miguel Díaz-Canel arrived and sat on the ground next to the young men and women there, joining them with the simplicity of our people, with the same fighting spirit when faced with anything poorly done, and the same love for our island and the magical realism that inhabits it.
After the concert, Diaz-Canel offered the Red Bandanas a few words of support and encouragement, and filling the air was the gratitude felt for a leader who is sincere, who considers himself a servant of the people, part of the people, just like them.
The excitement following the President's departure did not diminish the emotion provoked by the presentation of Peregrino by the Adentro theater group - the emotion provoked by good art, which by nature is revolutionary.
The sky was still a dark, shapeless mass when - after the applause, the flag waving and the photos - it was time to pack up the camp, to say goodbye to Martí. The sit-in was coming to an end, but there was still talk of Cuba, the always living Cuba. The sun didn’t shine that Sunday in Central Park, but actually, yes, it did.
