From the worst crossroads and secular battles, Cuba has known how to rise up for all times, vindicating unity as an inescapable principle of its history.

This is how the first glimpses of the Cuban nation were forged with indigenous blood, white whip and black sweat until 1868, when the Grito de La Demajagua traced the path to sovereignty.

José Martí had already warned of the eternal dilemma of the constitution of our Latin American societies: «the problem of independence is not a change of form, but a change of spirit».

And it was precisely in the course of this contradiction that the unity of the people guaranteed the struggle for social justice, a principle that has historically been an integral part of the most consistent and deep-rooted Cuban national projects.

The battle for definitive national independence and the full assumption of the sovereignty dreamed of by four generations of Cubans from Félix Varela to José Martí did not come to fruition until 1 January 1959.

In fact, the Cuban Revolution celebrates its 66th anniversary not only as a social project and historical embodiment, but also as a democratic exercise and patriotic expression of the strength of the unity of its people.

Beyond exodus and shortages, iniquities and blockades: Cuba lives and works and, faithful to the legacy of Marti’s preaching, Cuba has faith in human betterment, in the future life and in the usefulness of virtue.

Happy New Year!

Long live the 66th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution!