By the Trabadores editorial staff on August 11, 2025 from Havana
The Star of Fidel, photo: Roberto Chile
Raúl Torres’ song summed it up for everyone. And that truth can be told by everyone who knew him, from the moment they met him, the words that moved them, his courage in the face of every enemy, his kindness to his friends, his realistic and positive reasoning in the face of every problem, his contagious and knowing smile, his hand on your shoulder as a sign of encouragement and trust.
Fidel is the Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban people because he earned it through his example and his work. No one like him could ask the people for the hardest sacrifices in the most turbulent times, just as no one inspired more heroism and effort than his own olive-green footprint from the Sierra Maestra to that speech at the University of Havana, in which he warned us of all the dangers of destroying a Revolution.
There are many of us who are Fidel’s rebellious children. Those of us who were even present at his speech on September 28, 2010, in front of the old Presidential Palace, where photojournalist and documentary filmmaker Roberto Chile captured the image of the cap with the star that is a symbol and guide, light and hope, justice and peace. We share it as a gift on his 99th birthday.
Today we need his telluric force to overcome the toughest obstacles; his sincerity to portray every step we take and instill optimism; his willingness to break the mold and make possible what many say is impossible; and his leadership based not on political office, but on his way of communicating, of doing politics, and of living alongside his people.
Raul Torres, photo: Bill Hackwell
Raúl Torres’ song summed it up for all of us. We are the children of a father who, just hours before his birthday, we remember simply as the greatest, the most faithful, who made mistakes like us in many things, but never betrayed his principles and never accepted undeserved praise. That is why we accompany him once again on this day of celebration. We are grateful, his grateful ones.
Source: Trabajadores