In Cuba there has only been one revolution: the one started by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes on October 10, 1868 and that our people are currently carrying out”.
In the year 1868 there was already a conspiratorial movement developing in different areas of the eastern region of the island, although it was not free of contradictions: there were those who advocated the beginning of the struggle immediately, while others considered that it was necessary to have all the resources.
Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, taking into account the existing situation in the island, was in favor of waiting no longer, so he increased his conspiratorial activity, which caused the Spanish authorities to decree his arrest.
The fight for Cuba’s independence began
Céspedes, aware of this, reacted without wasting any time. At dawn on October 10, 1868, in his farm La Demajagua, he gathered several pro-independence people and freed his slaves, calling on them to follow him in the struggle for Cuba’s independence. That day the cry of ¡Viva Cuba Libre! (“Long Live Free Cuba”) was pronounced, the flag was hoisted and fidelity to it was sworn.
Céspedes and the men who seconded him declared their unwavering decision to transform the existing situation through arms, as the only way to achieve the freedom to which they had the right as a people; and a nation was beginning to be forged.
The first combat with the Spanish troops took place the following day in the town of Yara. The Cuban troops were at a disadvantage, with fewer men and few weapons. They suffered a setback and someone, discouraged, said: “All is lost! To which Céspedes with great fortitude answered: There are still twelve men left: they are enough to make Cuba independent! The Yara meeting between Cubans and Spaniards made it known to the world that the Revolution in Cuba had begun.
Several years later, José Martí would refer to the symbolism of what happened on October 10, 1868 and said: The purest mysteries of the soul were fulfilled on that morning in La Demajagua, when the rich, getting rid of their fortune, went out to fight, without hating anyone, for the decorum, which is worth more than it: when the owners of men, at the dawn of the day said to their slaves: “You are already free!”
A hundred and fifty-four years have passed since that glorious day and we continue to feel the satisfaction of paying homage to Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and to all those who made our true independence possible on January 1, 1959 with the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, which continues to move forward invincibly.
