Three days after Carlos Manuel de Céspedes gave the order to uprise in La Demajagua, Vicente García González summoned his men to the Potrero Hormiguero farm, thus leaving October 13 as the date on which Las Tunas joined the so-called Ten Years War, 155 years ago today.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- The distinguished patriot achieved a rapid reaction among the people of Las Tunas since everything was practically ready for the uprising against the Spanish government, as agreed at the El Mijial Meeting on October 14, which is why he established his headquarters on the city outskirts with agility.
On a day like today, the tricolor Flag of the Lone Star was raised for the first time in Las Tunas, and the troops made up of peasants and freed slaves who carried machetes and few firearms, took over the town almost completely and burned the shantytown of the outskirts.
The Spaniards barricaded themselves in the church, a temple that bears the name of the patron saint of this region, San Jerónimo, and where they were while the people of Las Tunas demonstrated their impetus for patriotism accordingly with the oath they had taken to the Cuban flag to fight until achieving definitive independence from the Spanish colonial yoke.
As if it were a valuable inheritance, the people of Las Tunas did not disappoint the courage of Major General Vicente García González and from that moment on, they took their step forward in all the independence struggles.
Vicente García, known as “El León de Santa Rita” reached the highest positions as a military leader, as he led the Las Tunas region, was chief of Oriente and Camagüey, in addition to being Secretary of War, and even President of the Republic of Cuba, as well as obtained the rank of General in Chief of the Army.
COMMEMORATING THE BEGINNING OF THE INDEPENDENCE STRUGGLES IN LAS TUNAS
The new generations gathered in the former Hormiguero Farm Mambí camp to commemorate the beginning of the independence struggles in these lands.
There, at the foot of the monument commemorating the event, the work of some institutions was recognized, new members of the Young Communist League (UJC) were given membership cards, and poems, songs, and memories resounded.
One of the highlights of the day was the celebration of the members of the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution (ACRC), whose 30th anniversary in Las Tunas was celebrated today, who expressed their commitment to the infinite work of the Revolution.
The passionate historian Ridelio Fernandez Bodaño recalled the rebelliousness of the people of Las Tunas, who formed the first revolutionary committee in 1849, led the attack on the Plaza by Joaquin Aguero's forces in July 1851, and participated in the most important of the pre-uprising conspiratorial meetings in San Miguel del Rompe on August 4, 1868.
Among the flowers and school uniforms, one of Marti's sentences was heard: "From the love of past glories we draw the strength to win new ones.”
Also, to commemorate the date, and as part of Cuban Culture Day, the provincial branch of the Union of Cuban Historians (UNHIC) held a workshop on the 155th anniversary of the beginning of the Ten Years War in Las Tunas.
