Cuba remembers 90th birthday of Camilo Cienfuegos

With meetings of different generations and community actions, Cuba remembers this Sunday the 90th birthday of Commander Camilo Cienfuegos. 

The day before, a political and cultural evening was held with the participation of artists, young people and children, in the territory of Yaguajay, in the central province of Sancti Spiritus, where the hero and revolutionary fought his last victorious battle to surrender the tyranny of Fulgencio Batista (1901-1973).

Among the initiatives are the awarding of the winners of the contest "I paint Camilo" and the planting of a palm tree (national tree) in the Camilo Cienfuegos Historical Complex, which consists of a national museum, the mausoleum and the Plaza de la Revolución.

Today will also be the day for the signing of agreements between this center -which received a restoration process prior to the date- and other entities and institutions of the territory.

The members of the Young Communist League (UJC) of the province of Espiritu will also evoke his historical figure, in the school that bears his name, with the presentation of the Abrakadabra Children's Theater Company.

On the other hand, there will be the launching of the call for a colloquium on his life and work, and the inauguration of facilities with social impact in the community of Venegas, one of the territories liberated by the also recognized as Hero of Yaguajay.

Camilo Cienfuegos was linked since his youth to the Cuban revolutionary process, was an expeditionary of the Granma Yacht, commander of the Rebel Army and close friend of the Cuban-Argentine guerrilla Ernesto 'Che' Guevara.

He held the position of Chief of Staff of the Rebel Army after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, responsibility under which he was in charge of the arrest of Hubert Matos, after an attempted uprising in Camagüey.

The plane in which he was traveling back to Havana on October 28, 1959 disappeared in the middle of a storm, which implied that days of intense search were organized. In the face of his physical loss, the historic leader, Fidel Castro, said: "Men like Camilo Cienfuegos emerged from the people and lived for the people".

Referring to him, Army General Raul Castro added: "Camilo Cienfuegos was not the hero of Yaguajay. He was the hero of all the places he passed through".

It is for this reason that every year the Cuban people and, in particular the children, throw flowers into the sea and rivers as a tribute to his life and work.