Cuba honors Camilo Cienfuegos on the 91st anniversary of his birth

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 6 (ACN) Cuban president Miguel DIaz-Canel described today the Señor de la Vanguardia, Camilo Cienfuegos, as a whole patriot, on the occasion of the 91st anniversary of his birth in Havana, Cuba's capital city.

On Twitter, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) recalled that Ernesto Guevara, Camilo's fellow fighter, described him as a selfless fighter who always made sacrifice an tool to temper his character and forge the character of the troops.

For his part, Manuel Marrero, Prime Minister, on the same social network also recalled the date, quoting the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, when he said: "he was a man who loved difficulties, who knew how to face them and could accomplish feats in the most incredible circumstances".

Roberto Morales Ojeda, secretary of organization of the PCC, wrote on Twitter that the legacy of the Señor de la Vanguardia lives on in current and future generations of Cubans.

Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriaran was born in the Lawton neighborhood of the Cuban capital on February 6, 1932, and from a very young age he participated in strikes and demonstrations against the injustices of the tyrant Fulgencio Batista.

In 1956 he joined the expedition of the Granma yacht, prepared by Fidel Castro from Mexico, which upon its arrival in Cuba began the guerrilla war in the Sierra Maestra.

He stood out for his audacity in the advance of the Rebel Army, for which he was known as the Señor de la Vanguardia (Lord of the Vanguard), and his merits in combat allowed him to increase his rank until he reached, in April 1958, the rank of Commander.

During the last months of the revolutionary war, he led the invasion and rebel campaign in Las Villas, at the head of Column 2, Antonio Maceo, as did Commander Ernesto Che Guevara, with Column 8, Ciro Redondo.

After the triumph of the Revolution, Camilo Cienfuegos' forces occupied on January 2, 1959 the Columbia Military Fortress in Havana, the main stronghold of the tyranny.

Camilo died tragically on October 28, 1959, when after aborting an act of sedition in the province of Camagüey, he was returning to the capital under a heavy storm, and the small plane in which he was traveling disappeared.