It might seem easy to speak of Fidel on his centennial; however, what constitutes his most tangible legacy, the Cuban Revolution, survives today amidst a colossal crisis and an economic situation with no short-term remedy.

That's where we are; “between horror and tenderness,” as the poet would say, and therefore, any matter related to Martí's most enlightened disciple is currently viewed through that lens: blackouts, inflation, an aging population, emigration, unsanitary streets, declining civic values…

Daily life is harsh, and the historical enemy never sleeps, never ceases to lie in wait, and knows only obstacles, sanctions, and suffocation. It does not forgive us for the audacity to exist, for not bowing our heads. What would Fidel do today? The responses, surely as diverse as the individuals who give them life, will always coincide on one thing: the urgency of addressing, with feet firmly on the ground, everything possible.

That was the Commander. That is how he is. He was in the factory, asking questions until he was exhausted; he swam when the rains of Hurricane Flora tried to block his path; he wept openly on that day of farewell to the victims of the Barbados crime… And even one afternoon, in the very Aula Magna of the University of Havana, he said that the work could come to an end, because the Cuban Revolution was capable of self-destruction, a responsibility that, should it happen —he added— would be exclusively the responsibility of the Cuban people.

Possessing a prodigious eloquence, heir to the Galician stubbornness of his paternal ancestors, a child of his time (as he should be), there is a before and after this infinite man in the fertile Cuba’s history.

To ensure the path continues along the steep trail he helped to forge requires a unity that doesn't always find space; it demands everyone's voice in service of the common good, without corners, cheap disrespect, flags at half-mast, or petty posturing.

And while this seems possible on paper, it doesn't quite achieve enough to make discourse and action go hand in hand, or for the generations of Cubans who have grown up without witnessing his actions firsthand to feel him close, alive, defying all the storms.

Ensuring that Fidel's words are not just another slogan on July 26th, a phrase we quote to complete a "good speech," or even an excuse for what we choose to set aside to supposedly "change everything that needs changing," is also a revolutionary duty, a matter of loyalty, a necessity, and a guarantee of the future.

These matters must occupy us every day, beyond a centennial date which, while defining a man's passage through the world, will not necessarily be the reason that ignites, for the times, conscience and direction.

Today on our website, dear reader, we feature the "unforgettable day" of many tuneros, when an olive-green uniform sowed the occasion with dreams and set them in motion to forge the future. We asked them, "Tell us about that time," and the words flowed forth clear, without hesitation, leaving us with a certainty from their very utterance: to Fidel, teacher, guide, prow, and commitment, we must always return.