My parents would often remember this day. My uncle Jose was a student at La Universidad de La Habana and related this day in ample detail. They would get angry when the Castro regime adopted Echeverria’s image or story as part of the so-called revolution. Of course, we know that the Castro dictatorship knows no bounds and will do whatever it takes to exploit the past.
On this day in 1957, Jose Antonio Echevarria, president of the FEU (Federation of University Students) was killed in a shootout with police. He was a student leader and critic of Batista.
It was another tragedy in Cuban history.
If Castro, Inc. could brazenly co-opt José Martí, its polar opposite, it could co-opt anybody.