Article and Photos by Syara Salado Massip and Victor Villalba on October 28, 2023 from Havana
“I sing to you, because it is not true that you are dead, Camilo.
I sing to you, because you are alive and not because you are dead.
Because you are alive in the soul of the people of your love,
in the laughter of the children and in the green of the palms”.
Thus begins the popular song that Carlos Puebla dedicated to Commander Camilo Cienfuegos, one of the bravest and most beloved men by the Cuban people.
Camilo Cienfuegos, Revolutionary leader, Expeditionary of the Granma and fighter in the Sierra Maestra, man C confidence of Fidel Castro and inseparable friend of Che Guevara. The one with the wide smile, the one with the big hat, the leader of the vanguard, the Hero of Yaguajay. All that and much more is reflected in the thousands of flowers that are thrown every October 28 in the seas and rivers of Cuba, to pay homage to that young rebel who on October 28, 1959 was returning from the province of Camagüey, to arrest Huber Matos who had declared himself in rebellion with the Revolution, when the small plane in which he was returning to Havana fell into the sea in the middle of a storm and his remains were never found.
“I sing to you, because you are alive, Camilo and not because you have died.
Because you are alive, soldier, for the homeland, always vigilant,
“because you are alive in the schools, in the earth and the plow.
I live your sweet face in the lone star,
I live in the agrarian reform and in Fidel’s dream.”
Yesterday once again , Havana’s Malecon was dressed in a blanket of colors. Children, students, workers, the people in general, together with the President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel, members of the government and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, all paid tribute to this Commander of the People, and in this homage, reaffirming their commitment to the Revolution, as continuers of our immense emancipatory project.
I sing to you, because you are alive, Camilo and not because you have died.”
if on the patriotic path a bad idea appears.
And then noble and calm, as at that moment, you will again hear Fidel ask:
Am I doing well, Camilo?”
Remembered as a simple man who was jocular, self-sacrificing fighter, of strong revolutionary convictions, with high values , with a sense of identity, belonging and human dignity. He was one of the most loved and respected leaders of our revolution; one of those unequaled and unconditional men forever adhered to the ideology of the Cuban Revolution. His unfortunate and premature death, permeated with mystery, was a hard blow, constituting today a paradigm of a man for the Cuban youth.
Source: Cuba en Resumen