65th anniversary of April 9, 1958, General Strike

Havana, Cuba, Apr 9 (RHC) Hundreds of people on Sunday commemorated the 65th anniversary of April 9, 1958, General Strike, when the city was taken by the revolutionary forces for 24 hours.

The revolutionary action, considered as epic by the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro, had courageous moments, as Commander-in-Chief said: “…there is no doubt of any kind the city of Sagua la Grande wrote an indelible page of heroism in the history of our Revolution”.

In response to the national workers’ strike on April 9, 1958, organized by the 26th of July Movement’s leadership, a group of young people from Sagua, armed with knives, revolvers, and shotguns, took to the streets at 11:00 a.m. and subdued Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship officers.

Amid the maelstrom, four young revolutionaries were shot down and killed at the Sagua Railway Station, an emblematic site where a political act was celebrated on Sunday.

Osnay Miguel Colina, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in Villa Clara, praised these four heroes´ humanism, upon learning on April 10 the city was going to be bombed they retreated to a place called Monte Lucas, and there several of them were vilely massacred by the tyranny´s aviation.

The list of those fallen includes Antonio Chávez, Antonio Finalet, Filiberto González, Fidel Arredondo, Julio Laportilla, Lázaro Pentón, Lázaro Barrios, Leonardo Sampedro, Lorenzo González, Manuel Garrido, Mario Antonio Pérez, Neftalí Martínez, Mario Domínguez, Rafael Dulzaides, Raúl Valencia and El Desconocido. (Source: PL)