This April 7, Vilma would be 95 years old, and right in the heart of the mountains, in the middle of the mountains that guard the Mausoleum of the Second Eastern Front Frank País, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, celebrated the birthday of his beloved guerrilla highter, a girl of rebellious and fair spirit, defender of every conquest in favor of women.
Together with Raúl, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez; as well as other members of the Political Bureau, leaders of the Party, the Government and the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), the Union of Young Communists, members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, and a representation of the residents of the Santiago municipality of Second Front, also paid tribute to the immense woman who put her whole life at the service of the Homeland.
After singing the fiery notes of the National Anthem, a song of constant combat, so close to Vilma's call for the empowerment and full participation of Cuban women, young women laid floral offerings on behalf of the Cuban people to the heroine and to the heroes and martyrs of the Second Eastern Front.
Poetry and music, two of the artistic manifestations that always overflowed Vilma's sensitivity, not only as a personal taste, but as genuine tools of emancipation and growth, gave way to the central words of the member of the Political Bureau and secretary general of the FMC, Teresa Amarelle Boué.
In her speech, she reviewed every inch of Vilma's exceptional existence: the strategist of the clandestine struggle, who could be Alicia, Deborah, Monica or Mariela; the sweet and firm guerrilla fighter; the founder, together with Fidel, of the Federation of Cuban Women; the defender of social justice and equal rights and opportunities for women.
“How great was the clarity of her ideas and her ability to mobilize thousands of women around a common goal: the construction of a new Cuba, where they would be the protagonists of their own destiny,” said Amarelle Boué, who evoked her leadership capacity and her total commitment to just causes.
Vilma, she said, not only fought against discrimination, but also for the active participation of women in all areas of political, economic and social life of the country; and also raised her voice in international forums to defend the sovereignty of Cuba, and denounce the policy of suffocation of the U.S. Government.
Teresa Amarelle also underlined some of the achievements of Cuban women, reached under the protection of a renewed legislation, with an inclusive Family Code, adapted to the new times. However, as Vilma said, the conquest of equality is a permanent process that requires perseverance, unity and an unbreakable will.
Her legacy, according to the FMC General Secretary, inspires us, commits us and summons us to continue fighting, in new scenarios, to maintain the Cuba that she helped to forge: prosperous, sustainable, solidary and socialist.
This morning, at the foot of the hill, very close to the nature she loved so much, the tender and energetic voice of the guerrilla fighter was also heard in one of her many speeches, in which she expressed her absolute confidence in Cuban women, capable of building a new life and forming future generations.
Towards the end of the tribute, Raúl and Díaz-Canel greeted the people gathered there, mostly women, who responded with a resounding Long Live Vilma!
Then followed the tribute before the eternal flame. Red roses for the men and women who rest under the guerrilla sky of the Second Eastern Front, founded by the Army General, an endeavor that had the indispensable support of his partner in life and struggles.
And in front of the monolith that holds Vilma's ashes, Raúl also placed a bouquet of white flowers, pure as the love that united them in a family and in the defense of the Revolution. The intimate tribute gave way to that of the villagers, representing Cuba as a whole, to an everlasting woman, inexhaustible in her energy and will to do good.
A life dedicated to the Homeland
1930 April 7, born in Santiago de Cuba.
1954 July 14, takes her last exam and concludes her studies as a chemical engineer.
1956 Under Frank's direct orders, she participated in the armed uprising in Santiago de Cuba on November 30.
1957 On July 20, 1957, she ascended to the leadership of the struggle as provincial coordinator of the RM-7-26.
1958 Decided to remain as a guerrilla fighter and delegate of RM-7-26 to the Second Front.
1959 January 26, she married Raúl Castro Ruz, her partner in life and ideals.
1960, August 23, founds the Federation of Cuban Women, of which she is elected president.
1961 Promotes the creation of kindergartens.
1965 She was a member of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party since its foundation.
1972 Promoted the creation of the National Working Group on Sex Education, which became the National Sex Education Center.
1976 On December 2, 1976, when the National Assembly of People's Power was constituted, she was elected deputy and member of the Council of State.
1977 Presided over the First Regional Conference on the Integration of Women in Development of ECLAC.
1978 Created the Regional Center of the Women's International Democratic Federation for the Americas and the Caribbean.
2000 On November 29, 2000, the University of the East awards her the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa.
2002 Received the title of Heroine of the Republic of Cuba from the hands of Fidel Castro.
2007 June 18, she dies in Havana.
