Havana, November 28 (Radio Habana Cuba) — The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel accompanied thousands of young people who took part on Wednesday in the traditional pilgrimage for the 153rd anniversary of the shooting of the eight medical students at the hands of Spanish colonialism.

Also present at the march, which started from the steps of the University of Havana to the monument that commemorates the vile murder, located at Prado and Malecón, were Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the PCC; Meyvis Estévez Echeverría, first secretary of the National Committee of the Union of Young Communists, among other representatives of the Party, the Government and mass and student organizations.

The national president of the Federation of University Students (FEU), Ricardo Rodríguez González, referred to the pain that these events awaken, which affects Cuban youth today and their will to protest against any similar injustice.

He affirmed that those who intend to subdue the Cuban nation and hand it over to the anti-Martian project of servility will be opposed by this same youth that honors its dead and does not forget the cruelty of the crime and its perpetrators.

“We are called by the history of this revolutionary staircase and always an accomplice of the Cuban student movement and a platform of condemnation against injustices such as the blockade imposed by the United States Government and the Zionist genocide in Palestine,” he added.

For Diana Duhaldeborde, a second-year student at the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the ‘Comandante Manuel Fajardo’ Clinical-Surgical University Hospital, this particular page of Cuban history reaffirms the rejection of injustices by the new generations, both those that occurred a hundred years ago and those of today.

As a future doctor, she expressed her willingness to pay tribute with her professional conduct to the memory of those who fell then and proudly highlighted how this feeling expands with the humanist, supportive and internationalist vocation of the revolutionary process, embodied in her doctors.

On November 24, 1871, students of the first year of Medicine were waiting in the Anatomical Amphitheater for the arrival of their professor Pablo Valencia, who was to give a class, but upon learning that he would be late, several of them decided to attend the dissection practices of Dr. Domingo Fernández Cubas.

According to historical notes, some of them entered the cemetery, located near the school, and walked around its courtyards, since entry was not prohibited, and one of them, Alonso Álvarez de la Campa, took a flower that was in front of the cemetery offices, which provoked the anger of the caretaker, named Vicente Cobas.

He accused them of scratching the glass that covered the niche where the remains of the Spanish journalist Gonzalo Castañón, director of La Voz de Cuba, spokesman for the volunteer corps, who had been killed by a Cuban patriot in Key West, United States, rested.

The students were arrested and tried in a summary trial, but the verdict was not accepted, and a second trial was held in which it was determined to sentence the young men to the maximum penalty, while three others were chosen at random to satisfy the volunteers’ demands for blood.

The eight students sentenced to death were taken three days later, on November 27, 1871, to the esplanade of La Punta, where the execution took place, considered one of the most atrocious crimes committed on the island by Spanish colonialism.    (Source: ACN)

Havana, November 25 (Radio Habana Cuba) — Cuba today remembers the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, eight years after his physical disappearance, while reaffirming his imprint in the permanent battle to defend national sovereignty and independence.

The anniversary comes amid the country’s extraordinary efforts to recover after the recent ravages of two hurricanes and several earthquakes, which highlight the cohesion, patriotic commitment and the value of solidarity that Fidel Castro brought to the process of transformations initiated in 1959 under his leadership.

Such efforts also take place in the context of the updating of the Cuban economic model, in a scenario of unprecedented intensification of the United States’ policy of blockade and financial persecution, and the media war promoted from that country with the purpose of subverting the revolutionary process on the island.

Hence, beyond the image of the bearded man in his olive-green uniform that turned Fidel Castro into a symbol of Cuban and universal rebellion, his legacy is being strengthened throughout the country these days through productive tasks and conversations about his life, work and thought, among other activities.

This day, the steps of the University of Havana will be the site of the youth’s tribute to the revolutionary leader, through a political-cultural evening that will celebrate the validity of his example in the daily struggles of the Cuban people.

For their part, the Cuban Workers’ Union and the Young Communist League dedicated a national day of voluntary work to Fidel Castro last Saturday, which commemorated the 65th anniversary of the first call for this initiative aimed at promoting productive tasks and fostering labor awareness.

Journalists, officials, workers and people who had a direct relationship with the revolutionary leader also told anecdotes to the new generations about these meetings that marked their lives and allowed them to see the real dimensions and magnetism of someone who is considered one of the great protagonists of the history and politics of the 20th century.

Amid the tensions that mark international relations today, the position of the Cuban Revolution in defense of the just causes of the world against the pretensions of the great powers to perpetuate their hegemony, and the need for peace, is also reaffirmed these days.

The day before, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez recalled on the social network X Fidel Castro’s vision on this subject with a phrase from the Cuban leader:

«We are enemies of war, and it is the imperialists who impose wars on humanity.  And the stronger they feel, the more dangerous they will be.   And for that reason, every people that fights for its sovereignty and for its independence, defends peace».

(Source: Prensa Latina)

Washington, Nov 25 (Prensa Latina) The Cuban Embassy in the United States paid tribute today to the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro, eight years after his passage to immortality.

In a simple ceremony, presided over by Lianys Torres, Chargé d’Affaires of the diplomatic headquarters, the life of one of the most impressive personalities of the 20th century and part of the 21st century was remembered.

With emotion, everyone observed a minute of silence in memory of the eternal Commander-in-Chief and listened to that song, almost an anthem, Cabalgando con Fidel, by Cuban singer-songwriter Raúl Torres.

‘Man, the grateful ones accompany you/How we will long for your heroic deeds/Nor does death believe/that it took possession of you./Man, we learned to know you eternal/As well as Olofi, Jesus Christ There is not a single altar without a light for you…’

The collective -which has an important presence of young people- reiterated its commitment to the legacy of Fidel’s political ideology.

In the evening of November 25, 2016, the world received the news of his physical departure in Havana.

Eight years later, as the troubadour said: ‘Today our heart beats outside/ And your people, even if it hurts/ Don’t want to say goodbye to you’.

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Havana, November 25 (Radio Habana Cuba) — Monday marked eight years since the physical departure of the eternal Fidel Castro.  From the steps of the University of Havana, Cubans — especially young people — paid tribute to the Commander, as a sign that his legacy remains here, in each of the people present and in so many others throughout Cuba and the world.

The evening began at around 8:00 p.m. at the university, with the presence of the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez; the members of the Political Bureau, Esteban Lazo Hernández, president of the National Assembly of People’s Power and Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Party; Meivys Estévez Echevarría, First Secretary of the National Committee of the Union of Young Communists.

Also present were other members of the Political Bureau, leaders of the Party, the Government, mass organizations, the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, students and teachers from different levels of education.

Meyvis Estévez, in emotional words, spoke of the Commander in his youth, that is how he wanted to remember him.  “The images of Fidel accompanied my childhood and adolescence, pure poetry for those of us who had the opportunity to share a piece of time with him.”

The First Secretary of the National Committee of the Union of Young Communists also recalled the important legacy of Fidel and each of the actions that made Cuba finally a safer, more dignified and, above all, free place.  “When it seemed that the memory of the apostle would be extinguished, Fidel from this same place lit a torch that took a different and dignified path,” she said.

“We are a generation that must face adversity and never lose hope. We are in every lineman, educator, doctor and every Cuban who fights for a better country. Fidel and his generation gave us a work that we will never let fall,” she also added.

Annie Garcés, Frank Pedroso, the Ballet Revolución, the Amadeo Roldán National Symphony Orchestra and other artists also paid tribute to the Commander, leaving everyone present more than moved.

Fidel was here again tonight.  Although, to tell the truth, Fidel has never stopped being here.  This tribute, more than commemorating his passing, reminds everyone that in times like these we must turn to him more than ever, remembering his struggles and his ideas.