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Cuba is distinguished by its impeccable patriotism, born of the emancipatory epic of the nation's heroes, initiated by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes in the 1868 uprising and continued by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro, because the Revolution of this land is one and the same, from October 10 of that year until January 1, 1959.
The excellence of the Bayamo lawyer lives on in the nation's memory when he asked Cambula Acosta to make a Cuban flag to preside over the uprising, a design he himself drew on a piece of paper. Once the work was finished, he told him to take it and shout to the revolutionary forces that they would rather die than surrender it to the enemy.
A sublime attitude was that of the patriot Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, who, from his headquarters in La Demajagua, Manzanillo, began the Ten Years' War and was the first to free his slaves. He marched into battle shouting "Long Live Free Cuba!" and, after seeing his troops reduced in an unequal challenge to the Spanish forces, stood up and responded to the defeatists: "There are 12 men left; that's enough for Cuba's independence!"
Fidel defended the same position almost a century later, at the reunion of the Granma yacht expeditionaries in Cinco Palmas, after the landing and the baptism of fire in Alegría de Pío, in 1956; signs that the Cuban Revolution is one and began with the one undertaken by Céspedes, for the political and social transformation proposed, beyond the just act of the emancipation of Cuba.
As national history recognizes, the October 10 proclamation failed to achieve its ultimate goal. However, that date and that process marked the nation, which matured and consolidated its national identity during that decade.
Along with the veterans and experienced combatants of the so-called Great War, the new generations of Mambi fighters honored the Father of the Nation's maxim of not remaining on their knees before a foreign power and stood up and made their presence felt.
The so-called Little War (1879-1880) and the Necessary War (1895-1898), organized by José Martí, took place; however, the Apostle always referred to this event as a revolution, a fundamental appreciation of an event that had a national-liberating, democratic, and anti-slavery character.
Because on that day, in addition to the proclamation of independence, another gesture would seal a vision of transformation within society: the announcement of freedom for its slaves and the call to fight for such a long-awaited aspiration on equal terms, a devastating blow to that slave system.
This issue triumphed within the Revolution of '68 and as a just consequence, Article 24 of the Guáimaro Constitution, of April 10, 1869, reflected the principle: "All inhabitants of the Republic are entirely free."
These events took place in a favorable context; although the conspirators differed in their opinions about the timing of the insurrection, the circumstances at that time created a very special climate. For example, the frustration of reformist attempts, demonstrated by the outcome of the information meeting in Spain (1866-1867), further strengthened the independence solution.
Life in the Cuban Libre camps also represented a very significant change. As Martí described in his Steck Hall lecture on January 24, 1880, the daily lives of those living in the areas dominated by the Mambises underwent essential transformations:
“(…) children were born, women married, men lived and died, criminals were punished, entire towns were established, authorities were respected, virtues were developed and rewarded, special defects were produced, and long years passed under the terms of their own laws (…) that created a state, that became customs (…) [that] brought everything that existed to the land, and awakened in a large part of the Island hobbies, beliefs, feelings, rights and habits (…)”.
The process described was not without contradictions that affected the course of the conflict; but the change it produced was very significant, as Cuba would never be the same again. As Martí also asserted, "After a revolution, a people cannot be the same as they were before."
This had the merit of being a triumph of independence ideas, against Spanish fundamentalism and reformist and annexationist currents, as new symbols for the nation emerged, such as its National Anthem, alongside iconic personalities such as Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Perucho Figueredo, Ignacio Agramonte, Máximo Gómez, Antonio Maceo and others, which included the female presence symbolized by Mariana Grajales.
Despite the contradictions that affected the development of that feat, which forced others to pick up the flag they had abandoned, tired of the initial effort, those least in need of justice, according to Martí, the Revolution of '68 proved to be a founding moment, a crucial event for the consolidation of the nation and for new revolutionary projects.
That morning, the Bayamo patrician delivered the declaration of independence known as the Manifesto of the Revolutionary Meeting of the Island of Cuba or the Manifesto of October 10. At the batey of La Demajagua, before a crowd of some 500 people, he declared: "Citizens, the sun you see rising over the summit of Turquino comes to illuminate the first day of Cuba's freedom and independence."
As he himself stated: "Cuba aspires to be a great and civilized nation, to extend a friendly arm and a fraternal heart to all other peoples..."
On this day, this country reaffirms its patriotism, which will be evident on the 157th anniversary of the beginning of the emancipatory struggles, when one of the most heartfelt tributes will take place at the Santa Ifigenia Heritage Cemetery, which houses the ashes of Céspedes, Martí, and Fidel, founding fathers of the nation, and of Mariana, mother of all Cubans.
Taken from the Cuban News Agency.
