February 24th and a cry that echoes throughout history
- Written by Redacción ¡ahora!
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February 24 in Cuba is an emblematic date in the revolutionary process, as noted by the Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez. Marked by historical events, it becomes a day of patriotic homage that unites generations in the collective memory of the struggle for independence and sovereignty.
In 1895, José Martí signed from New York the order to begin the Necessary War, coordinated on the island by Juan Gualberto Gómez. The Cry of Baire, with Saturnino Lora's clamor of “Independence or Death!”, multiplied across more than 30 points in Cuba. Thus, veterans of the Great War united with new generations under the Cuban Revolutionary Party, reviving Antonio Maceo's spirit in Baraguá.
During Batista's tyranny, in 1956 José Antonio Echeverría founded the Revolutionary Directorate, carrying forward the legacy of 1895. In 1957, it was confirmed that Fidel Castro was alive and fighting in the Sierra Maestra through an interview.
The following year, on February 24, 1958, Radio Rebelde began broadcasting from the Sierra Maestra. The voice of truth of the Rebel Army thus became another weapon in the fight.
With the triumph of the Revolution, the date gained institutional dimension: in 1976, Raúl Castro proclaimed the First Socialist Constitution of the Republic in the Carlos Marx theater.
In 2019, with over 86% popular support, the new Constitution was ratified, updating the Cuban socialist model. Thus, February 24 weaves Cuba's identity with the unyielding will for freedom and fidelity to its forebears
February 24th reveals itself as a guiding thread of Cuban identity. From that cry of “Independence or Death” that resounded in Baire in 1895, through the revolutionary proclamations of the Directorio and Radio Rebelde in the 1950s, to the constitutional proclamations of 1976 and 2019, the date has been imbued with the same meaning: the indomitable will of a people to be free, masters of their own destiny, and faithful to the legacy of their heroes.
