“[…] we must remember that on this day, on an afternoon such as this, the socialist nature of the Revolution was proclaimed. That, we could say, was the first great salvo fired in response to the aggression.”
Quotes
“Máximo Gómez. Humble son of this people, knew how to transform himself into the outstanding and cherished son of the Cuban people by the right earned through his struggle for the independence of Cuba, to which he contributed his might and his machete, his military genius and his valour, a remarkable political talent and profound revolutionary philosophy.”
"I am very aware, and I have been aware throughout my life, that Bolívar was the man whom José Martí admired the most. Bolívar, Venezuela and their people were always what Cubans admired the most. Bolívar, Venezuela, their people and their feats always inspired my dreams as a Latin American and Cuban revolutionary.’’
“Revolution is the sense of the historical moment; it is changing everything that must be changed; it is full equality and freedom; it is being treated and treating others like human beings; it is emancipating ourselves, by ourselves and with our very own efforts; it is challenging the dominant powerful forces within and outside of the social and national arena; it is defending the values one believes in at the cost of any sacrifice; it is modesty, selflessness, altruism, solidarity and heroism; it is fighting with audacity, intelligence and realism; it is never telling a lie or violating ethical principles; it is the profound conviction that there is no force on earth that can crush truth and ideas. Revolution is unity, it is independence, it is fighting for our dreams of justice for Cuba and the world that is the basis of our patriotism, our socialism and our internationalism."
“The dark clouds on the horizon of the world today, will not prevent the Cubans from continuing to work restlessly on our wonderful social and cultural programs as we are persuaded that it is a human endeavor unparalleled in history”.
“All throughout history, almost every action intended to attain national independence, including that of the American people, was carried out with the use of weapons and nobody ever questioned, or would question, that right. But, the deliberate use of weapons to kill innocent people must be definitely condemned and eradicated for it is as unworthy and inhuman as it is repulsive, the same as the historic terrorism perpetrated by the oppressing states”.
“There shouldn’t be any wars. We should make efforts to find peaceful solutions everywhere, in Colombia too. There shouldn’t be any wars, because at this time in the history of the Americas, no problem can be solved through wars”.
The name of Cuba will go down in history for ever because of what it has done and is still doing for humanity in the fields of education, culture and health in the most difficult period that our species has known.
“I must admit that Marx was right when he sketched out the idea that only when a truly rational, just and equitable social regime exists on this earth, will humankind have left prehistory behind.”
"The singing of the anthem on that October 20 came at the same time as the feat of arms with which the Revolution achieved its first and most important victory over Spanish colonial troops. Bayamo’s surrender and Céspedes’ victorious entry marked the culmination of the act of rebellion begun on October 10 in La Demajagua sugar plantation which marked an turning point in the country’s history and gave birth, over the rubble of the first colonial redoubts, to the Cuban nation".
“It is not men who make history, it is history that makes men or the great figures and personalities; men interpret events, in one way or another, but they are born from history”.
“Our youth always keeps alive the memory of those medical students and of all those students who fought against tyrannical and corrupt governments.”