Cubans Evoke Fidel Castro’s Entrance to Havana in 1959

The entrance to Havana of the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, with the Caravan for Freedom, will be evoked today after 57 years of that historical event

Authorities, as it is traditional, organized a symbolic tour in which young students and workers from different sectors are involved.

The Commander in Chief arrived in Havana on January 8, 1959 in tanks and other armored vehicles that were occupied to the ousted Army by dictator Fulgencio Batista.

He came accompanied by 1,000 rebel fighters, including the members of the Jose Marti Column 1 of the Sierra Maestra mountain range.

Addressing to the people, the leader of the Revolution said, “this is a decisive moment in our history. The dictatorship has been defeated.

The joy is immense. However, there are still a lot of things to do. Not deceive us into believing that everything will be easy, perhaps everything will be more difficult.”

Journalist Marta Rojas, a witness of that event, said that thousands of Havana residents then took the streets to welcome the Commander of the Rebel Army who led the actions to overthrow the tyranny of Fulgencio Batista, who preferred to flee to face his defeat.

From the municipality of Cotorro, where they entered to the capital, to the Presidential Palace, and from there to the former Columbia Military Barracks, Fidel and the fighters of the last independence war in the island received a warm and emotional welcome, she said.

The guerrilla fighters, who arrived in on tanks and trucks, received the crowd who cheered them and let hear shouting of Long Live Fidel, she said.

Flowers were thrown from the balconies, and there was no empty space at the Paseo del Prado, along the Havana seawall drive and in the Havana neighborhood of Vedado from some few hours earlier, pending the fighters for freedom, while Cuban and the 26 de Julio Movement flags flew from everywhere, Rojas described.

The vehicle that brought the revolutionary leader and his companions, including the commander of people and wide-brimmed hat, Camilo Cienfuegos, shook the hearts of the Havana people, who wanted to hug or shake hands with the caravan members.