By Alejandra Garcia on March 6, 2022
dancing to the plaza. photo: Bill Hackwell
The last time I paraded through the Plaza de la Revolución on May Day was in 2019. I remember the sound that day from the clanging of a handbell, beaten by a very red-eyed man, who probably had been sleepless for hours, waiting for the march to begin. He was walking along with other members of a marching band, which was advancing through the crowd playing a Conga, a very Cuban rhythm that makes you dance for good.
The traditional parade for International Workers’ Day started at 8am local time in Havana’s Revolution Square, in a compact block of thousands and thousands of people. But we began to arrive much earlier, from 4am when it still was night, like that man who was ringing his handbell.The parade was a party for him and those who accompanied him around all wrapped up in their choreographies. The people advanced in droves towards the Plaza of the Revolution, holding big and small banners reading, “Fight for your yucca,Taino” (Lucha tu yuca, Taino) “Raúl and Díaz-Canel are the image of Fidel.” as the Caribbean sun began to rise.
That was the last May Day we celebrated in Cuba before the pandemic came into our lives. In May 2020, the virus was spreading fiercely across the island, amidst the superhuman efforts of doctors, scientists, and authorities doing their best to keep at bay that deadly disease, which has left a toll of over 8,000 deaths so far.
Until then, I had never missed a march. It’s nice to remember when I used to go to the parade with my grandma and my mom as a child, at a time when I had the sensation that everything was gigantic. We all looked forward to that day first day of May to celebrate the strength of our Revolution on the International Day of the Workers. Contingents of trade unionist and solidarity activists from around the world added a special feel that together we could not only commemorate the significance of the day but feel our strength in solidarity and unity.
Ever since I graduated from journalism school, I have always tried to see the parade from outside the press stage. I like to mingle with the people, with everyone, feeling the pulse in all their diversity. There you can see and feel the real Cuba, our authenticity, creativity, and desire to move forward despite the difficulties.
This week, the country’s authorities made a long-awaited announcement: next May Day, people will be able to march again in the Revolution Square, a tradition we put on hold during the two-year-long health emergency. Thanks to our vaccination campaign, which took place with Cuban immunizers, we are already in a safe environment to resume the celebrations in all their splendor.
I can already imagine the sun faintly in the early hours of the day. Under that light, the Plaza will shine beautifully, with the path of flags leading to the giant statue of José Martí. The faces of Ché and Camilo Cienfuegos will look bright along with the sepia banner with the image of a young Fidel, taken minutes after he got out from the Moncada trial in 1953.
I’ll be there and, with a little luck, I’ll meet again the musical band formed by the skinny guy with the handbell, a boy with braids who played the trumpet, and the boy dressed in blue with his cap tilted to one side, who played the drums.
This time, for sure, they will again harangue the crowd to the rhythm of that contagious music, and with a chorus that I will never forget: “Get on the train of my Conga, my Conga that goes to the Revolution Square with Fidel’s guidance.”
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – English