Live
Audio Only
In 1868, Cespedes proclaimed the beginning of the struggles for the independence in his wit La Demajagua, where he granted freedom to his slaves.
On Monday, Cubans remember the 203rd birth anniversary of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, lawyer and independence leader who initiated the "Ten Years War" against Spanish colonialism.
RELATED:
Born in Bayamo province, Cespedes studied Law at the Havana University and the Cervera University in Spain, where he was several times arrested and forced to exile in France for participating in revolutionary and anti-government activities.
After returning to the Island in 1884, he contacted opponents of the colonial regime like Salvador Cisneros, Bartolome Maso, and Pedro Figueredo to organize the beginning of a revolutionary war with the conviction that armed struggle was the only way to achieve Cuba's independence.
On Oct. 10, 1868, Cespedes proclaimed the beginning of the struggle for the independence in his wit "La Demajagua", where he granted freedom to his slaves and invited them to fight for the independence cause.
Today, as speaker at the monthly virtual picket against the US' blockade against #Cuba, I had the opportunity to denounce the severe, cruel impact of those measures on the daily life of my people. Huge thanks to our friends for your solidarity with Cuba (Canada and around the ��. pic.twitter.com/8WdJphpiRS
— Giuvel Orozco Ortega (@GiuvelOrozco) April 18, 2022
As first President of the Cuban Republic in Arms, Cespedes outlined strategies to strengthen and extend the war throughout the country, including the forging of a military campaign from east to west and promotion of the destruction of the Spanish crown’s wealth in Cuba to undermine its sources of livelihood for the war.
He also boosted the irregular struggle military method, worked to increase armed expeditions from abroad, and deployed an extensive diplomatic activity to encourage then-Latin American presidents to support the Cuban independence war.
The “Father of the Homeland,” as Cespedes became known, was shot dead on Feb. 27, 1874, at the San Lorenzo estate in the Sierra Maestra. About this independence leader, Commander Fidel Castro said that he symbolized the dignity of a people -still heterogeneous at that time- that was beginning to be born in history.
The U.S. criminal blockade against Cuba reaches six decades. pic.twitter.com/KwyJr5VtfG
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) February 3, 2022
Newsletter
