{"id":212783,"date":"2020-01-24T14:19:21","date_gmt":"2020-01-24T19:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=212783"},"modified":"2020-01-24T14:19:21","modified_gmt":"2020-01-24T19:19:21","slug":"traditional-march-of-the-torches-to-take-place-only-in-havana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/traditional-march-of-the-torches-to-take-place-only-in-havana\/","title":{"rendered":"Traditional March of the Torches to take place only in Havana"},"content":{"rendered":"

The traditional March of the Torches, which every year pays tribute to <\/span>Cuban National Hero Jos\u00e9 Mart\u00ed<\/span><\/a>, this year will only be held in Havana, according to reports from the official Cuban press.<\/span><\/p>\n

The march, which is convened by the Federation of University Student (FEU), will take place on the night of next Monday, January 27\u2015on the eve of the birth of the Cuban hero\u2015and, as usual, its route in the island\u2019s capital will start from the steps of the University of Havana and will end in the so-called Fragua Martiana, where the quarries were located in which the young Mart\u00ed served a sentence of forced labor because of his opposition to the Spanish colonial regime.<\/span><\/p>\n

But unlike what happened in previous editions, the parallel marches that are held in other parts of the country this time will not take place. This was confirmed by Jos\u00e9 \u00c1ngel Fern\u00e1ndez, president of the FEU, who assured that, nevertheless, \u201cAll of Cuba will be marching with us (the Havana marchers),\u201d according to <\/span>statements cited<\/span><\/a> by the Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN)<\/em> news agency.<\/span><\/p>\n

The press report does not specify the reason for this decision.<\/span><\/p>\n

The March of the Torches had its origin in 1953, when young Cuban university students, among whom was the then lawyer Fidel Castro, organized it for the first time in Havana to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Jos\u00e9 Mart\u00ed, less than a year after Fulgencio Batista\u2019s coup d\u2019\u00e9tat.<\/span><\/p>\n

Years later, with the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, the marches were again convened, this time under official protection and not only to pay homage to Mart\u00ed but also to support the government and reject U.S. measures against the island. It was in this context that they spread throughout Cuba.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, the March of the Torches\u2015named because the participants parade carrying torches\u2015was controversial, because it took place despite the <\/span>devastating tornado<\/span><\/a> that affected several municipalities in the Cuban capital at that time. Its celebration was criticized at the time in social networks by those who considered that it should be suspended in solidarity with the victims and argued that the resources used in it could be used for recovery, while the government and the official organizations defended its holding.<\/span><\/p>\n

Los muertos y los vivos<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n