Havana, January 11, 2023.- Housed in the chest of a people who, despite her physical absence and the passing of the years, continue to profess a proverbial affection for her, Celia, our eternal Celia, "is not a silence that the grave encloses/ but a living idea that fulgura", as pointed out in his verses by Jesús Orta Ruiz.
That is why every January her vital presence tends to be reborn in the memory of those who do not forget the girl who, together with her father, honored the Master in the year of her centenary; the first olive green guerrilla in the Sierra Maestra; to the reckless combatant of the clandestinity; to the fighter who "loaded" the written history of the war in her backpack; to the indispensable leader of the Revolution, and to the godmother of all, in whose lap orphaned children, women without rights, needy mothers, dispossessed peasants or the humblest workers found refuge.
Many other Cubans remember her from the respect and admiration of her that she conquered with such dedication, simplicity and altruism. Because already being a legend, Celia was never an unattainable heroine, but a popular and beloved leader, in which kindness and detail naturally nested.
Elusive to receive deserved honors, our "most indigenous flower" preferred to make, create and found without attracting attention, although the imprint of her work latently spreads throughout the Island. She felt more comfortable with modest clothes and espadrilles than wearing formal clothes ; she ate little and smoked a lot, but she worked almost tirelessly; no pain or social problem of hers was foreign to her and she was happy driving her car without escorts, conversing with the men from the furrow or the fishermen, and taking care of the plants and animals.
Along with Fidel, the Heroine of the Sierra y el Llano made the banner of modesty and selflessness very much her own. Not in vain at her burial, that very sad January 11, 1980, 43 years ago today, Armando Hart Dávalos would affirm that "sweetness, affection, affection, the joy of living are integrated into Celia's character with the most rigorous demand, in the principles and in the revolutionary work (...) was like justice: humane and demanding».
(Granma)
That is the essence that has earned her survival, because Celia lives in the aroma of butterflies, in the most transparent rivers of the hills, in the clean smile of a child, in truth and in hope; she lives in the sovereignty that embraces us in each awakening.