Floral tributes from Army General Raúl Castro, leader of the Revolution, and Miguel Díaz-Canel—First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC)—were laid today at the plaque commemorating the martyrs of the armed uprising of November 30, 1956.
Likewise, on the 69th anniversary of that heroic date, which marked a decisive moment in the final revolutionary stage, floral arrangements were placed on behalf of Esteban Lazo, president of the National Assembly of People’s Power, and the Cuban people.
As a result of that action, planned to support the landing of the Granma expeditionaries, Pepito Tey, Tony Alomá, and Otto Parellada lost their lives during the attack on the Batista police station at Loma del Intendente, a site now the Museum of the Underground Struggle and a declared National Monument.
According to Yusmaikel Vailer, a member of the PCC Secretariat responsible for the agricultural sector, remembering that glorious feat reaffirms that the example of our heroes and martyrs forms the foundation for strengthening the principles of unity, resolve, and patriotism in the face of the historical enemy that imposes a suffocating economic, commercial, and financial blockade and persists in its aim to destroy the Cuban Revolution and the progressive governments of Venezuela and Nicaragua.
He pointed out that the fighting spirit of that generation of young people, inspired by Martí’s ideals, is the same as that of today’s youth, who continue to defend the work for which several generations of Cubans fought, aware of their role in continuing to contribute to and consolidate Socialism.
Vailer called for continued work in the recovery of the indomitable territory after the devastating passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 29, a mission in which every resident of Santiago plays an essential role through their sense of belonging, commitment, organization, discipline, motivation, and enthusiasm.
For her part, Aida Liliana Morales, president of the branch of the Union of Historians of Cuba in this province, told the Cuban News Agency that on that day a group of combatants debuted the red and black armband and olive-green uniform, demonstrating that the dream begun in 1953 with the assault on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks had not been thwarted, but rather was being nurtured from the grassroots level.
“Every year we return here,” he affirmed, “to honor that generation and reaffirm our commitment to maintaining the country’s independence, as well as the patriotic values and sense of national identity that guided them; values now nurtured by the younger generations.”
Attendees included Beatriz Johnson and Manuel Falcón, president and vice president of the Provincial Defense Council, respectively, along with leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, representatives of mass organizations, veterans of the Revolution, and the people of Santiago.
IMAGE CREDIT: Nelson Hair Melik Marrero | Photo: Javier Arzuaga
[ SOURCE: AGENCIA CUBANA DE NOTICIAS ]
