Havana, September 12 (RHC) – A political-cultural gala to honor Commander of the Revolution, Juan Almeida Bosque, was held at the Karl Marx Theater to mark the 10th anniversary of his passing away. Cuban President, Miguel Díaz Canel Bernúdez, attended the gala and ceremony, along with Cuban Communist Party Central Committee Second Secretary, José Ramón Machado Ventura, Cuban Parliament President, Esteban Lazo, and other leaders.
Opening the homage, Culture Minister, Alpidio Alonso, said: ‘Today we are paying tribute to a legendary hero, Commander Juan Almeida Bosque, since we are marking ten years of the physical disappearance.’ Alonso also recalled that the CIA-sponsored coup against democratically elected Chilean President, Salvador Allende, took place on Sept. 11, 1973, when a fascist stage in the South American country’s life started. He went on to say that they were commemorating the 9/11, 2001 attack on New York’s Twin Towers, where the lives of many innocent people were lost, and expressed support for both the Chilean and US people on the commemorations. After referring to how Almeida showed his firm loyalty to Cuban Revolution historical leaders, Fidel and Raúl Castro, his joy for life and his contagious smile, the Culture Minister highlighted Almeida’s famous phrase in Alegría de Pío at the Sierra Maestra mountains: ‘Nobody surrenders here’, as an aspect of his unlimited faith in victory.
Juan Almeida was a simple and honorable man who took part in the attack on the Moncada military headquarters on July 26th, 1953, the action which sparked the Cuban Revolution. He was a Commander of the Third Front during the revolutionary struggle at the Sierra Maestra which led to the victory of the Cuban Revolution on January 1, 1959, an important military chief in the fight against counterrevolutionary gangs at the Escambray Mountains and in the kicking off of mercenaries in Playa Girón or the Bay of Pigs invasion. The Cuban Commander of the Revolution was also a prolific musician, not only composing and making dozens of tunes popular among Cubans, including Hoy sé reír and La Lupe played by Amelita Frade accompanied by Bebo Valdés, the commander’s first music hit composed in Mexico 1956. Other popular pieces made by Almeida are Dame un Traguito, Yo te extraño, Yo quisiera tenerte, Un beso de recuerdo, Fue anoche, Yo no te olvido, Hablo a tu corazón, Fui dichoso, Tiempo ausente and El gran día de enero.
The gala included the performance of the National Symphony Orchestra; maestro Frank Fernández; the Cuban National Choir; pianist Alejandro Falcón; singers Beatriz Márquez, Niurka Reyes and Yulaysi Miranda; ‘rumba’ players Los Papines; Juan Almeida’s son JG and his band and soprano Barbara Llánes accompanied by the National Symphony which captivated audiences with their performance of Almeida’s song El gran día de enero, a tune that refers to the victory of the Cuban Revolution.
