Union leader Xiomara Mercantete

Xiomara Mercantete Rodríguez is easy to approach. She is preceded by a reputation she has built up, right down to her shoes, as a competent psychologist, a woman with a solid discourse, grounded in the realities of her daily life and in a profession that she confesses to be a shield and an abbreviation every day of her life.

In the Sierra Maestra, Paco (behind) was a leader in the struggle.
In the Sierra Maestra, Paco (behind) was a leader in the struggle.

Minutes before leaving to return to the island after a four-day visit to Venezuela that had everyone exhausted, but happy for what it represented for the nascent Revolution, the Cuban delegation, headed by Fidel Castro, was finalizing the details. The head of the escort realized that the long arms were in the other plane and went to look for them, but he did not realize the danger. 

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel in Manatí.

"Nothing can be more important than contact with the people", said the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and president of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez when he summarized on 26 January the evaluation of the fulfillment by the Communist Party of Cuba in the municipality of Manatí of the priorities outlined for the year 2024.