Raul Castro Heads Commemoration of September 5 Uprising

The celebration took place in front of the ancient San Lorenzo College, the last bastion defended then by the revolutionary combatants

President Raul Castro has led the political and cultural event held in Cienfuegos, on occasion of the 60th anniversary of the popular uprising occurred on September 5, 1957, against the Fulgencio Batista tyranny.

The celebration took place in front of the façade of the ancient San Lorenzo College, the last bastion defended then by the revolutionary combatants and the military forces of the regime, immensely higher in number and fire power.

Roberto Morales, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) and main speaker, made a detailed historical account of the event that turned Cienfuegos into a liberated city for 24 hours.

He underlined the commitment of the current generations of Cubans to the legacy of the historical leader, Fidel Castro, of whom he said is more present than ever wherever a fellow countryman is working honestly and defending the Revolution.

Fidel’s example is a commitment to maintain the everlasting work he built, he emphasized.

Morales, also Cuban Minister of Public Health, referred to the impact of the revolutionary work in this south-central territory of the island, which became a new province since November 1976.

Lidia Esther Brunet, the first secretary of the PCC in the province, recalled the presence of Fidel on January 6, 1959 in the same square of the commemoration and the passage here of his ashes, on November 30.

Among the economic and social achievements of the territory, she mentioned that electrification reaches 99.9 of homes, and the 365 houses that still lack the service will soon receive it by the use of photovoltaic panels.

After concluding the act, also attended by the commander of the Rebel Army Julio Camacho Aguilera, head of the 26 de Julio Movement militias that co-starred the deed, the people of Cienfuegos began the traditional march to the mausoleum at the Tomas Acea cemetery, also National Monument, that holds the remains of those fallen just six decades ago.