"Here with Fidel" Anti-Imperialist Youth Parade held in Havana

All images via Estudios Revolución

By Alina Perera Robbio, translated from the Spanish

"We know we are the owners of a country that we build and defend every day." Early Thursday morning, Meyvis Estévez Echevarría, a member of the Central Committee of the Party, the Council of State, and First Secretary of the National Committee of the Union of Young Communists (UJC), delivered the main address at the Anti-imperialist Youth Parade “Here, with Fidel” on the Havana Malecón, near G Street, with President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez in attendance.

In an event that brought together children, adolescents and Cubans of different generations, the leader said: "Today, we recall moments of joy, dedication, and struggle. Our Union of Young Communists and the José Martí Pioneers Organization are about to celebrate their 64th and 65th anniversaries of their founding. Nevertheless, my voice carries the unquantifiable pain, the immeasurable fatigue, and the non-negotiable dignity, as we have all endured the most severe suffocations and a persistent denial of the freedom to develop due to the genocidal blockade."

This dedication to defending Cuba and continuing the humanistic work rooted in Fidelista ideology was reaffirmed by the First Secretary of the UJC. As the morning sun was rising this event bagan, attended by members of the Political Bureau, including Manuel Marrero Cruz, the Prime Minister of the Republic; Roberto Morales Ojeda, the Secretary of Organization for the Central Committee of the Communist Party; Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla; and other leaders.

With music and a tribute to Fidel's legacy, the day began with a speech from Alan Días Maceo, an eighth-grade student at Rubén Bravo Basic Secondary School. The young student condemned the unfair and harsh imperial blockade against the island, highlighting its devastating effects on everyday life, and concluded his address with a resounding ¡Viva Cuba libre!

Jesica Izaguirre Hernández, a student at the Pre-University Vocational Institute of the Ministry of the Interior (Minint) "Hermanos Martínez Tamayo", took the stage to call for respect of their right to live and to declare that no force in the world will bring an end to the Revolution.

At that point, Meyvis Estévez's words came, highlighting that none of the U.S. administrations "have succeeded in stripping away our tenderness or surrendering our souls. The impact of that blockade is carried in our burning marrow, in the bravery of every child, adolescent, and young person with dreams, in the urgent cry of every mother and grandmother who creates from nothing, in the sun-kissed skin of every family that remains standing not from habit, but from heroic defiance."

At another point in her speech, the youth leader said: "They want us to stop dreaming, to conform, to emigrate, to give up. But they are wrong. Because that obstacle they put in our way, that force that seeks to deny us the future, has come up against a reality greater than their hatred: the love, the resistance, the dedication and the desire to act of our youth."

In the midst of this imperial siege, she stressed, "here we are, the pioneers and young people, on the threshold of another April 4, to show the empire that this is a generation that has learned to resist, to innovate and to create in the midst of adversity. In every absence, we have forged the muscle of rebellion. In each limitation, we have invented a solution."

"And in this battle, we are accompanied by the eternal young rebel: our Fidel. Numerous generations have continued his work, overcoming difficulties, taking on challenges, without ever ceasing to feel our historical responsibility."

"This anti-imperialist parade 'Here, with Fidel,' in the year marking his centennial, symbolizes continuity and ensuring his ideas never die," she continued.

A call from Meyvis initiated the most beautiful moment of Thursday morning, with flags raised and fluttering in the wind.: "Let this youth caravan against the blockade begin! The motorcycles, tricycles, bicycles, and even skateboards brought by our young people today are more than just vehicles; they are a testament on wheels that we will stand strong, moving forward with pride against those who attempt to suffocate us.."

A colourful stream moved towards La Punta, where hundreds of pioneers and young individuals awaited the caravan participants. The day went on with a joyful fair in Cuba, a happiness that not even the darkest malice could diminish.

This work was translated and shared via a License CC-BY-NC