CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Tribute to Founding Hero and Maestro Julio Antonio Mella.

CUBA, January 8th, 2011.- Next Monday, Cuba will witness the homage that the Young generation of Cubans will pay to one of their greatest examples, Julio Antonio Mella, in the 82nd anniversary of his assassination in Mexico by orders of dictator Gerardo Machado.

We will pay homage to him in every square, park, monument and all places linked to his short but fruitful life, in every school and in every youth collective, said the president of the University Student Federation (FEU) Maydel Gomez Lago in statements to the Cuban News Agency (ACN).

In exchanges of knowledge and scientific workshops the youths will address the less known aspects of Mella´s life, who was killed at the age of 25 and of whom Fidel Castro once said: “Nobody was ever able to do so much in such a short lifetime.”

We have so much to study and learn about Mella, about his ideas on higher education, about the role of the university and the social commitment of the students, as well as about his own activities at what he called the Jose Marti People´s University, which he dreamed of and loved that much, said  Maydel Gomez.

Among the many ways to pay homage to Mella, Maydel mentioned a traditional pilgrimage to the Plaza de la Libertad (Freedom Square) at the Mella Park, in the city of Matanzas; a gathering in front of a plaque at the port of Cienfuegos, which recalls the departure of Mella to exile in 1926 on board the Cumanayagua cargo boat.

The eastern province of Holguin, particularly the locality of Banes will be the main venue of commemorations. It was in Banes where Mella arrived in February 1925 and spent very active and happy hours in the struggle for the sovereignty of Cuba and its jurisdiction over the formerly called Isle of Pines and against US imperialism and its domestic lackeys.

Meanwhile, early on Monday the youths will also gather at the Havana Memorial that treasures the mortal remains of the hero, right at the stairs of the University, which witnessed its dreams and eagerness of a man committed to his own time, to his homeland and to a better future for all nations.

Wreaths, passionate songs and phrases will also accompany the tribute, while the university students will keep honor guard until evening hours. (Cubaminrex-JR)

<< Back