Hundreds of residents of Pinar del Río, Cuba, poured into the city’s central Independence Park on Saturday to celebrate the announcement that their province has been chosen to host the nation’s official commemoration of the 73rd anniversary of the landmark 1953 attacks on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks. The selection comes as Cuba marks the 100th birth centennial of iconic revolutionary leader Fidel Castro Ruz, adding unique historical weight to the 2026 national event.
Addressing the gathered crowd from a purpose-built event platform, Yamilé Ramos Cordero, First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party in Pinar del Río, extended congratulations to local residents and emphasized that they were the driving force behind the province’s selection. “We are deeply honored by this recognition, especially since it comes in the year we are commemorating the centennial of our historic leader, Fidel Castro Ruz,” Ramos Cordero told attendees.
Ramos Cordero addressed public questions surrounding the choice of Pinar del Río for the national commemoration amid the country’s ongoing challenging economic and social conditions, framing the selection as a deliberate tribute to everyday Cuban resilience. “It is a tribute to the students, the young people, and the thousands of men and women from all sectors who, day after day, overcome the numerous limitations imposed by the U.S. government’s policy of strangulation on the daily lives of Cubans,” she said. “Throughout our nation, there is an extraordinary effort to move forward, seeking alternatives and solutions to the major problems we face.”
In addition to honoring Pinar del Río, Ramos Cordero congratulated all other provinces that received special recognition from the Communist Party of Cuba’s Political Bureau. She called on all Cubans to use the upcoming July 26 commemoration — a day to honor the revolutionaries who launched the 1953 uprising that laid the foundation for Cuba’s 1959 revolutionary government — as a catalyst for renewed national effort. The anniversary, she said, should motivate continued work, construction, innovation and improvement across all sectors of Cuban society, addressing areas that have yet to reach full potential.
Cuba’s national president and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, has already issued formal congratulations to Pinar del Río and the other recognized provinces for the distinction. For Pinar del Río, this 2026 event marks the fourth time the province has been selected to host the national July 26 commemoration, with previous hosting duties in 1976, 2000 and 2017. This repeated selection underscores the province’s longstanding standing in Cuba’s revolutionary history and its ongoing contributions to national life.