Cuban President Raul Castro today officiated at a ceremony to mark the 61st anniversary of the guerrilla assault on the Moncada Barracks, widely regarded as the beginning of the Cuban Revolution.
More than 100 rebels led by Fidel Castro attempted to storm the military facility at Moncada on July 26, 1953, in the first armed action of the revolution to topple dictator Fulgencio Batista.
The assault ended in a crushing defeat for the rebels, with many killed, while Fidel and Raul Castro were captured and imprisoned.
Around 8,000 people attended Saturday's ceremony in Artemisa, around 80 kilometers southwest of Havana, headed by Raul Castro, 83, dressed in military fatigues.
His brother Fidel Castro, 88, did not attend today's commemoration. Fidel Castro last attended the ceremony in 2006, shortly before handing over power to his brother due to illness.
