Cuban youth will pay tribute this March 13 to the honorary president of the FEU and his fallen comrades, on the 60th anniversary of the attack on the Presidential Palace and the taking of Radio Reloj. Photo: Ricardo López Hevia

Cubans will pay tribute today to those who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for a free homeland, on commemorating this March 13 the 60th anniversary of the attack on the Presidential Palace and the taking of Radio Reloj.

Among the activities to mark this important date are a marathon starting at the University of Havana's Grand Stairway and finishing in March 13 Park, and a procession from the Museo Casa Natal de José Antonio Echeverría, in Cárdenas, to the local cemetery, where the remains of the Honorary President of the Federation of University Students (FEU) rest.

On March 13, 1957, a group of Havana University students from the Revolutionary Directorate, led by José Antonio Echeverría, devised a plan to execute dictator Fulgencio Batista in “his own lair of the Presidential Palace.” At the same time, they would seize the radio station Radio Reloj, from where a call to the Cuban people to join the struggle would be made.

The planned attack was unsuccessful, and the students lost their lives in the attempt. Among them was José Antonio, who was shot down by the police very close to the university.

Every March 13, the FEU and the Cuban people remember this important episode of the revolutionary struggle.