March 13

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.

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My parents’ generation lived through this day. My late Tio Pepe was at La Universidad de La Habana and remembered the events vividly.

Jose Antonio Jose Antonio Echevarria, president of the FEU (Federation of University Students) was killed on this day many years ago. He was a student leader and critic of Batista. No one knows what would have happened had Echevarria not been killed that day. It’s one of those great “what if” stories of Cuban history. 

No matter what, it was a tragedy for this young man to die.

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