By Yaimi Ravelo on September 28, 2026
fotos: Yaimi Ravelo
While the dignity and ethics of Cuban diplomacy at the United Nations went viral on social media, inside the country was pulsating from within its neighborhoods in keeping with the most genuine principles being defended on the international stage and upheld daily by the brave people of Cuba.
The social work of the Revolution is called upon to remain in the neighborhoods, “with the humble and for the humble,” in a concept rooted in the thought of Martí and Fidel that—rests on several principles—those that the criminals and genocidal perpetrators of decency cannot strip from Cuban identity: loyalty, solidarity, humility, respect, and humanity.
Today, September 28, marked the 66th anniversary of the creation of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), proposed and spearheaded by Fidel, to channel the people’s needs and defend the Revolution’s achievements from within the neighborhoods. Today, their existence is vital in the face of daily aggression, to preserve what has been built and to implement social policies that protect the rights of Cubans in every community.
Elpidio Valdés Playground, in San Agustín, La Lisa.
Amid the collective punishment that Cuban families are suffering today—those principles to which they cling out of conviction and tradition—enable them to forge a path toward life despite the suffocating war of attrition imposed on them by the U.S. government.
When you see that on a September morning they’re reopening a playground with hundreds of children, holding a community health fair, and presenting a wheelchair to a neighborhood resident, that morning doesn’t go unnoticed in a country under such attack. You have to be here, to be able to share in the moment, and feel it.
Hands on the Job
“We’ve completed a long journey toward the goals that Wilfredo and I set for ourselves at the beginning of 2026, and there were three main reasons: the Centennial of the Commander-in-Chief, the 66th anniversary of the CDRs, and to honor the resistance of this heroic people in the face of a brutal and genocidal blockade,” said Marco González Urrutia, a Chilean resident in Cuba, member of the International Committee for Peace, Justice, and Dignity for the Peoples, and organizer of the activities on his block in the San Agustín community.
Wilfredo Reinford is the president of CDR #5 in San Agustín; he exudes vitality, working with Marco to find a thousand ways to throw a party for the children, promoting street cleanup, while fostering a love for beautiful spaces, and encourages care for the common good.
Behind every propaganda poster, every shipment of medicine and medical supplies, the wheelchair, the paint for the 45-meter mural honoring Martí, Gabriela Mistral, Chile, Cuba, and Palestine, the solar-powered lights that illuminate the park at night, and the budget to restore the playground equipment—they are in Marco’s hands, linked to the many other hands that make up the long chain of friends in solidarity with Cuba around the world. The International Committee for Peace, Justice, and Dignity, the Movement of Solidarity with Cuba of Chileans residing in Brussels, the Varsot Foundation of Chile, and friends of the solidarity movement living on the island all joined this call for solidarity issued by the Chilean activist based in Havana.
There was no shortage of helping hands in Cuba for Marco. Kenia (Cosita) is “la cosa nostra” when it comes to logistics for the neighborhood parties. “Cosita” calculates everything, from the amount of soda and the size of each slice of cake to the coffee to be distributed among the art instructors who restored the mural, created by Tato Ayress.
“We already have the essentials: doctors from three clinics, the entire staff of the polyclinic, the medications for treatments, education workers, classrooms at the Camilo Cienfuegos High School, and coordination with municipal authorities. The visual artists who painted the mural are invited, as are all those involved in the solidarity movement with Cuba, my sister Graciela Ramírez, René González Barrios, director of the Fidel Center, and friends who safeguard the work of the Revolution. “That’s the main thing, and we have it,” Marco noted in the hours leading up to the event, which he undertook with zealous responsibility to ensure that the community’s playground would not fall into neglect and abandonment due to the difficulties.
Gerardo Hernandez poses with a family from the San Augustin neighborhood.
“I have a surprise that kids always love: cake, candy, soda, and Gerardo. The kids love taking pictures with the Hero.” He remarked with the humor typical of his homeland—Cuban children take pictures with real heroes, not ones from movies or comic books.
It’s only natural that Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, National Coordinator of the CDRs and Hero of the Republic of Cuba, visits neighborhoods across the country; he does so constantly, especially in the run-up to CDR celebrations.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – Cuba