• Submitted by: admin
• Politics and Government
• 01 / 10 / 2007

Riding in a military jeep past thousands of people waving small Cuban flags on the outskirts of Havana, the children traced the path of Castro's caravan from the mountains of eastern Cuba to the capital, where Castro arrived on Jan. 8, 1959, seven days after the fall of dictator Fulgencio Batista.

Cuban veterans sporting revolutionary medals on their chests attended an accompanying political event to mark the anniversary.

"We have to trust in the revolution," said Astemio Sosa, a retired military captain who was among the guerrillas in the original caravan. "Socialism will never disappear."

Photographs and documentaries from the era show the men arriving in trucks and tanks while throngs of Cubans salute them, touch their hands and dance around the vehicles.

"Long live Fidel! Long live the revolution!" the crowd chanted as the jeep passed by Monday.

The ailing 80-year-old Castro has not been seen in public since July 26, five days before he ceded power to his brother Raul to recover from intestinal surgery. Despite uncertainty about the future of Cuba, the island's Communist Party retains firm control.

Source: Dominican Today