In the Plaza on May 1st

ARTICLE

IN THE PLAZA ON MAY 1ST

BY: JULIO A. LARRAMENDI

May 1, 2021. The Plaza de la Revolución, for the second year and due to the Covid-19 pandemic, wakes up silent and grey. Just a few banners recall the massive marches with which, for 60 years, Workers' Day is celebrated throughout Cuba.

The development of the Cuban vaccines, Abdala and Soberana 02, their massive application to our population and an effective health control strategy, have made it possible to reduce contagion cases to a minimum. Cubans return to the streets, still wearing masks and hygiene measures that prevent new outbreaks, but with an enormous desire to live.
First of May 2022. It is early in the morning and hundreds of thousands of Havanans move through the streets surrounding the Plaza. At 7 o'clock, the music over the loudspeakers is interrupted and the Secretary of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba reads his brief speech.
The sun is flooding the monument to José Martí with a golden and soft light, while a sea of ​​people, happy and boisterous, begins the parade, occupying the entire wide avenue, carrying flags, posters and banners.
 
At the base of the monument, hundreds of guests from other countries try to take pictures of the march on their cameras and phones. Higher up, on the platform, Raúl Castro and Miguel Díaz-Canel, along with other leaders, greet the people.
 
So it went across the country. The massive May Day celebration returned to the joy of all Cubans.

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