Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel lead the March of the Torches, foto: Dunia Alvarez Palacios
By Frank Martínez Rivero, Abel Padrón Padilla and Enrique González Díaz (Enro) on January 28, 2026
This powerful yearly tradition of Cuban youth carrying torches down the steps of the University of Havana the night before the birthday of Jose Marti was even more unified and determined this year as an answer to the escalating fascist rhetoric coming out of the White House against their homeland. -edit
Once again, Cuban youth raised their torches to pay tribute to the most universal of Cubans, José Martí, on the 173rd anniversary of his birth. This time, the march was charged with greater symbolism, driven by the motivation to salute the centenary of the birth of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, who, together with that same generation of young people, made the dreams of the Apostle come true.
As has been the tradition since 1953, the column of fire set off from the steps of the University of Havana, the alma mater that once again sponsored the emotional tribute.
The march was led by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez; Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the PCC; Esteban Lazo Hernández, President of the National Assembly of People’s Power; as well as other leaders of the Party, the Government, the Union of Young Communists, and the Federation of University Students.
foto: Enrique Gonzalez Enro
Litza Elena González Desdín, national president of the University Student Federation (FEU), reaffirmed the unwavering commitment of Cuban youth to the principles of the Revolution.
During her speech, González Desdín evoked the figure of José Martí, whom she described as “a flame, a compass, a commitment, a flag, and resistance,” emphasizing that his legacy, together with that of his “good disciple,” Fidel Castro, continues to guide the nation.
She emphasized that Cuba receives and projects that light in times of threat, responding with “unbeatable firmness” and the defense of the homeland as a sacred duty.
The student leader called on figures from various sectors and friends of the Cuban Revolution around the world to join what she described as an “extraordinary movement” of solidarity and resistance.
From the podium, she denounced the strategy of “the empire and its emperor” to impose an order based on “death and fascism.” In this context, she strongly condemned the “military aggression against Venezuela” and expressed firm support for that country’s president, Nicolás Maduro Moros, and his partner, Cilia Flores.
She recalled the “32 great sons” of Cuba, many of them young people, who lost their lives on January 3 after the Yankee attack on Bolivarian Venezuela. The president of the FEU elevated them to paradigms in the struggle for a united and sovereign America.
foto: Abel Padrón Padilla
González Desdín concluded her speech by defining her generation as “anti-capitalist” and with a firm proclamation: “that does not kneel, that does not sell out, that does not fall,” pointing out that the path has already been laid out by those heroes and that the current task is to follow it with determination.
This March of the Torches, which was first held at midnight on January 27, 1953—then to commemorate the centennial of Martí—celebrated its 71st anniversary on Tuesday. In that initial event, which the young Fidel Castro participated, was a prelude to the assault on the Moncada Barracks that took place on July 26th of that year
Today, 73 years after that initial event, another centenary—the 100th anniversary historic leader of the Revolution in August—invited the same gathering, demonstrating the permanence of the ideals of justice, sovereignty, and anti-imperialism in the new generations.
Source: Cubadebate, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English