The great decision of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, father of the homeland

BAYAMO, Cuba, Oct 9 (ACN) Undoubtedly, October 10, 1868 determined the destiny of the Cuban nation, said Javier Vega Leyva in this city, a few hours before commemorating the 155th anniversary of the important event.

The uprising led by Carlos Manuel de Cespedes in his Demajagua sugar mill - which was the beginning of the independence struggle - represents a philosophical thought that gave guidelines and shed light on the need for a Cuba free from Spain's colonial yoke, said the young director of the museum located in the Father of the Homeland's Birthplace.

The action, he said, expresses the awareness of the patriots of the time, who knew how to understand that war was, necessarily, the way to achieve freedom.

That decision shows the awakening of a national conscience, seen not only from the group that began to conspire and created revolutionary committees in several regions of the eastern part of the island, but also in those who followed them, he pointed out.

An example of this is the more than 2,000 men who accompanied Cespedes (as he is known to Cubans) in his entry into the city of Bayamo, just eight days after the uprising, Vega Leyva pointed out.

In exclusive statements to the Cuban News Agency, the president of the National Association of Historians of Cuba in the province of Granma(eastern Cuba) said that the Cry of Independence embodied the decision of a people to take up arms against the Spanish colonialist regime, in order to be independent and sovereign.

They did it, moreover, with a project of nation, because October 10 has the number one among the many pages of glory in the history of Cuba.

Asked about the most outstanding and impressive qualities of Cespedes, he highlighted the decision: that tremendous audacity to take up arms against Spain, the powerful empire that surpassed him in military troops and war equipment; and to remain firm despite the difficulties.
Because the battle of 1868 was also for the Mambises a battle against vicissitudes, hunger, shortage of weapons, clothes...; evidently, the Father of the Homeland had a heart and a steel temper, the expert added.

On the occasion of the 155th anniversary of the independence uprising, the birthplace of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes is exhibiting a temporary exhibition with objects related to the Ten Years' War (1868-1878), and Monday and Tuesday it will hold its regular conference On the Founder's Route.

The Cuban Association of Historians in Granma is promoting a series of lectures and debates on the historical significance of October 10, from which they have promoted exchanges in organizations, companies and educational centers.