The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.60/No.20           May 20, 1996 
 
 
May Day parade in Manzanillo, Cuba  
Printed below is a letter from two Militant readers who recently visited several cities in Cuba, including Manzanillo in the east.

We were just able to wrap up our nine-week visit to Cuba by attending the May Day demonstration in Manzanillo. It summed up what we had begun to learn and feel throughout the trip. There is a sense that the special period has hit bottom, and that some real gains are being made. Militant readers have seen reports on the big May Day march in Havana, but there were activities in the other provinces too.

Manzanillo is a pretty small city - about 90,000 - and we were told that it had been hit especially hard by the shortages of the last few years. There had been no May Day parade for the last two years, because of problems with transportation, and even with human energy. But this year was different.

The parade started at 9:00 a.m. sharp, and we watched for two hours as group after group passed the reviewing area. Guesses on the crowd ran from 30,000 to 50,000. The crowd was vibrant, conga dancing, blowing horns, beating drums, chanting, and waving signs. We've never seen anything like it. Retired workers from the shoe factory, artists, fisherman, metal workers, schools, farms, and others all had their contingents, and everybody had something they were proud of.

The signs most popular were "Socialismo o Muerte" (Socialism or death) and signs denouncing the Helms-Burton law, but there were hundreds and hundreds of varieties, mostly home-made. People brought their children, one guy had a lion on a leash, and others brought their special period inventions. Our favorite was a four- wheeled, three-person-powered bicycle. After the parade the conga lines and impromptu fiestas spread out across the city.

Seeing the spirit in Manzanillo was a real treat. There was no question that this was a grass-roots outpouring of support for the revolution, an enormous mobilization for a city of this size, and people had great fun doing it.

From the radio we got the impression that other small cities were having similar marches. It was the perfect end to a trip that convinced us that the revolution is alive and kicking in Cuba, in spite of all the difficulties of the last few years.

Syd Stapleton

Anne Chase-Stapleton  
 
 
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