Posted on 03/25/2026 10:51:16 PM PDT by Libloather
Longing for a free homeland, hope for change and a deep love for Cuba drew thousands to the streets of Hialeah, where chants of “Libertad” echoed through the city during a “Cuba Libre” rally Tuesday evening. The gathering at Milander Field was part protest, part celebration — a vibrant echo of a Cuban fiesta. Hats reading “Make Cuba Great Again” and shirts proclaiming “Cubans from Morón” — a central Cuba town where protesters recently set fire to the Communist Party headquarters — or “Patria y Vida” dotted the crowd, while music, from Celia Cruz classics to reggaeton, pulsed through the air. The voice of Cuban singer Amaury Gutiérrez added a melodic thread, weaving nostalgia and pride into the atmosphere.
Amid the chants, one refrain rose above the rest: “¡Viva Cuba Libre! ¡Abajo la dictadura!”— Long live free Cuba, Down with the dictatorship — powerful declarations of identity, pride, and solidarity uniting generations, from those who left decades ago to younger Cuban Americans, bound by hope and resistance.
The rally, attended by several thousand people, marked the first major event hosted by Hialeah’s new mayor, Bryan Calvo, in the heart of one of the nation’s largest Cuban exile communities where, even though most elected officials are U.S.-born to Cuban parents or grandparents, the cause of a free Cuba has long been used as political leverage in South Florida. Following the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces in January, some Cuban Americans believe this year could finally mark a turning point for the island.
Calvo, in a bilingual address, said that the Cuban people deserve something more than “merely surviving.”
(Excerpt) Read more at miamiherald.com ...
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