Havana, January 9 (RHC)-- Thousands of Havana residents and visitors from around the world celebrated Sunday the 58th anniversary of the arrival in Havana of the Freedom Caravan on January 8th, 1959, led by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.

A week after the January 1, 1959 triumph of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel and the revolutionaries entered Havana, after traveling on trucks and other vehicles all the way from Santiago de Cuba. Their caravan were met by jubilant crowds lined along the route, waving the flag of Fidel's July 26th Revolutionary Movement and throwing flowers as the caravanistas passed by.

As traditional, every year the historic route of that first caravan is re-enacted by young Cubans from different sectors of today's Cuban society, who are chosen for their merits. This year's celebration was not the same with the absence of Fidel, who died here in Havana on November 25th at the age of 90.

Sunday's commemorative ceremony was presided over by Mercedes López Acea, Political Bureau member and First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party in Havana.

In her remarks, Maylín Alberti, First Secretary of the Young Communists League (UJC) in the municipality of Playa, reiterated the commitment of the younger generations of Cubans to upholding Fidel's legacy and his concept of Revolution.