Army General Raúl Castro and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel participated Thursday in the traditional March of the Torches, a tribute to National Hero José Martí on the 169th anniversary of his birth.

Havana, Cuba.- Together with the students and people of Havana, the walk departed from the steps of Havana University to the Forge of Martí. In this place, the Apostle suffered imprisonment and forced labor for his libertarian ideas as a teenager.

Before the pilgrimage, the national president of the Federation of University Students -FEU-, Karla Santana, reaffirmed the commitment of young people with the work of the Revolution and with the social transformation to strengthen socialist democracy.

The occasion also celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Young Communist League, the centenary of the FEU, and the 76th anniversary of the admission of the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, to the university.

This edition of the March of the Torches recalls the first of its kind held at midnight on January 27, 1953, to await the advent of Jose Marti's centennial.

That initiative also became an act of protest against the crimes of dictator Fulgencio Batista (1952-1959) and the persecution of young people who sought to change the political course of the island. (RHC)