By María Josefina Arce

"...It is the greatest commemoration that has ever taken place in the history of our country", said the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, about October 10, 1868, the date that marked the beginning of the struggle for the definitive independence of Cuba.
   
One hundred and fifty-five years have passed since that memorable day when the Bayamo patriot Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, in his sugar mill La Demajagua, in eastern Cuba, gave freedom to his slaves, proclaimed the independence of our country and began the armed uprising against the Spanish Metropolis.
   
The decision and spirit of independence and revolution of Céspedes, the Father of the Homeland, accompanied Cubans until the triumph of the revolution in January 1959 and continues to mark the actions of our people in the battles they have fought and fight every day to defend their sovereignty, independence and the chosen path.
   
Multiple have been and are the challenges of a revolution constantly assaulted by U.S. imperialism, uselessly determined to surrender a people, heirs of those men who confronted the Spanish troops and flooded the Cuban fields with their blood.
    
The ringing of the bell of La Demajagua on that October 10 has never been extinguished. Every achievement of the revolution, in its 64 years, has the spirit of sacrifice and courage of our mambises.
   
With the same courage and determination Cubans have resisted a blockade imposed by the United States that affects sensitive and important areas such as the economy, health and education.
  
A siege intensified in times of the COVID 19 pandemic that prevented, for example, the acquisition of pulmonary ventilators, which could make the difference between life and death for those infected with the virus.
  
But in the face of this difficult situation, the fighting spirit was once again evident and our researchers and technicians were able to produce emerging ventilators of national manufacture. It was the joint effort of Public Health institutions and other sectors.
  
The Cuban scientific community was also able to bring to life three anticoviral vaccines. Cuba was the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean to obtain immunogens against the disease caused by the new coronavirus and the first in the world to immunize the pediatric population.
   
With that spirit of sacrifice, struggle and resistance of those men who marked the path towards our definitive independence, today Cubans work and look for alternatives to carry forward the country and their life project in the current complex situation.