Cuba, as high and firm as the palm trees

Exactly 65 years ago, all of Cuba shouted the name that was the banner of victory: Fidel, amidst the pure and intoxicating air of freedom, just minutes after waking up from terror, crime and trampled human dignity.

And that the people were beginning to rise to the gigantic task that was about to begin, the magnitude of which could hardly be glimpsed in those minutes of irresistible euphoria. Ahead lay the frontal struggle against counterrevolution and imperialism; the attempts to starve us into submission with the economic, commercial and financial blockade; the colossal task of transforming the country through socialism and organising the people.

Nothing has been easy since then, as Commander Fidel Castro warned us at the time. Another year of hard work and difficult circumstances has come to an end, which has required our love and trust, but above all a great spirit of resistance to move forward. What we have suffered, from the personal to the social, has not weakened the will of the Cuban people to move forward.

Therefore, there is no better way to say goodbye to one year and look forward to the next than to be together, but more than that: UNITED, as a family with strong bonds that are difficult to break.

What gives us strength today is the knowledge that we are capable of thinking, contributing, transforming and moving forward. Growing together means joining forces to be better at meeting the daily challenges. The Revolution taught us the value of steadfastness without surrender, that everything we do is first and foremost our own effort.

We are approaching the 65th anniversary of the Revolution with the freshness, intelligence, capacity and dedication that characterise us. We are preserving the essence that defines us in the midst of our commitment to our homeland. It is up to us to be the writers of beautiful pages of patriotism, unity and anti-imperialism.

Let us drink a toast to what we have achieved and to the new victories of the battles to come, to the homeland and to life itself. Let us drink to those who gave us the joy of the final victory of January 1, and to the dreams that came true.

Congratulations, Cubans! Long live the Revolution forever!

Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez