At the Birán Historical Museum Complex, a political-cultural ceremony honored the progenitor of Cuba’s revolutionary process, attended by local residents and members of international solidarity groups—including Tras las Huellas de Fidel from Italy, Ruta Roja from Portugal, Siboney and the Communist Party of Chile, and Juan Rius Rivera from Puerto Rico.

Fidel Antonio Castro Smirnov, grandson of Cuba’s historic revolutionary leader, evoked his grandfather’s figure—both as a statesman and as a close, affectionate, yet demanding human being. Speaking in Birán, a small village of scattered houses where “one of Cuba’s greatest sons” was born, he stressed that Fidel’s legacy should not be viewed as a debate about the past, but about the future, because to love Fidel is also to love one’s homeland.

Giorgia Vernetti, leading the Italian brigade composed of young and adult political militants and human rights defenders, told the Cuban News Agency that they are carrying out a work program in eastern Cuba aimed at denouncing U.S. interventionist policies that suffocate the Caribbean nation, while also offering the kind of solidarity Fidel so fervently advocated—solidarity that, she said, cannot be stopped.

Thus far, members of the Convoy Tras las Huellas de Fidel have visited landmark sites and communities in Granma and Santiago de Cuba provinces, contributing through donations destined for the most vulnerable populations.

Chilean participant Jacqueline Clark Valdés fulfilled the dream that her mother—a political prisoner under Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship—could not realize in her lifetime: visiting Cuba, the homeland of the Comandante en Jefe, whom she defined as a beacon of hope for the peoples of Latin America, both present and future. She also expressed gratitude to those who accompanied her on this journey to celebrate the significant date—men and women who continue to advocate for the freedom and dignity of nations.

The occasion also served to award the 23 de Agosto medal to outstanding women within the Federation of Cuban Women, as well as the Centenario de Fidel distinction to youth and collectives excelling in the dissemination of his memory.

Among those recognized were the Birán Historical Complex, the University of Medical Sciences, the Vladimir Lenin University Hospital, and the nickel enterprises Ernesto Che Guevara and Pedro Soto Alba.

The homage was attended by Joel Queipo Ruíz, member of the Communist Party of Cuba’s Central Committee and first secretary in the province; Manuel Francisco Hernández Aguilera, governor of Holguín; and other leaders of political and mass organizations.