Author: Maylenis Oliva Perrales
The pandemic may prevent us from physically attending the essential encounters Cubans have every July 26 with the memory of our historical generation.

There is no virus or adverse situation that can diminish the significance of the step they took in 1953, when a handful of young rebels, led by Fidel, «conquered» for eternity the yearnings of a people.

Santiago has not been the same since. Nor Bayamo, or Cuba. The assaults on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks marked the path forward to the construction of the homeland, which today, as the 67th anniversary of the glorious events approaches, maintains its sovereignty.

Their example has inspired the country to respond to every external provocation, to every imposed obstacle, to every «tightening of the screw» meant to asphyxiate us, and respond with our own alternatives and inventiveness, standing tall, never on our knees in the face of U.S. threats.

There is no better way to honor the rebellious spirit that Cubans assumed once and for all, in 1953, than to win the COVID-19 battle, which is the next victory that we must now achieve.