Havana, Jan 8.- Cuba today commemorates the 66th anniversary of the arrival in this capital of the Freedom Caravan of the Rebel Army, with Fidel Castro in command, after the revolutionary victory on January 1, 1959.
The entry of the guerrilla leader to Havana will be remembered this morning in points of the capital where the delegation arrived on that date, after more than a thousand kilometers of contact with the people from the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba.
According to local authorities, the reissue of the historical event will begin in factory complexes in the Cotorro municipality, after which a wreath will be placed in front of the Granma yacht at the Museum of the Revolution, in Old Havana.
In the afternoon, the caravanists are expected to pass through 23rd Street in the Havana neighborhood of Vedado, until they arrive at the Ciudad Escolar Libertad, a scientific-pedagogical complex, located in the Marianao municipality, where the national central event for the anniversary will take place.
The reissue of that feat started on January 2 from the city of Santiago by prominent young people and protagonists of the historic event, which as it passed through each province handed over the baton of the triumphal march to other members of the new generations.
The occasion was opportune for the authorities of these provinces to present young people and outstanding workers in various fields with the card that accredits them as members of the Union of Young Communists (UJC) and the Communist Party.
Likewise, some received the Always Young status conferred by the National Committee of the UJC for their relevant participation in the tasks of that political organization.
In 1959, after more than two years of hostilities against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista (1952-1958), the rebel columns received hospitality from the inhabitants of towns and cities along the route, which showed resounding popular support for the proposal for political change that was beginning on the Caribbean island.
According to chroniclers of that feat, the contingent of humble soldiers and patriots, with combat uniforms and long hair, permeated a mystique in the population that elevated the stories of their military victories over better-equipped and trained regular forces to epic dimensions.
The advance of the Caravan from East to West showed the possibility of making long-postponed dreams of social justice come true, and at the same time pointed out numerous dangers that the Revolution had to overcome in the face of the hostility of its internal and external enemies.
The march of the Rebel Army also represented the first direct encounter of Cubans with Commander Fidel Castro, the leader who would later direct the destiny of the nation and build, together with the revolutionary forces, a socialist project of continental reference. (Text and photo: PL)