Whoever travels along the Central Highway finds this gigantic "FIDEL VIVE" in the section that links the municipalities of Contramaestre and Palma Soriano. Specifically in "La Cumbre", hill located in the community of Aguacate its inhabitants render posthumous tribute to Fidel.
Before, on my trips to Santiago de Cuba I had seen him from the road. It was until this moment that I visited the place and I was able to know details.
I asked about their protagonists. Juan Cuevas (Guancho) was then taken to one of its creators. To this friend, after greeting him I asked him to accompany me to the place chosen; Kindly accepted. We held a conversation for over forty minutes on the way.
Guancho, from the road everyone who travels to Santiago de Cuba sees this giant poster Was it an initiative of yourselves or an orientation?
The idea was ours, the people here. Revolutionary people who love Fidel. We met a group of colleagues days before the caravan step and we thought what to do in this hill called "La Cumbre". By the position of this, as you can see, gives the possibility of being seen by all who travel to Santiago. On both sides of the poster we put two flags: the Cuban one and the one of July 26.
Who participated in the making of this?
Friends and neighbors had to give a lot of machetes in this area because the grass was very high, it was at the waist. Then the students collected the stones. From afar it looks good because the word FIDEL is six meters high, and LIVES about three.
How did they get all the letters right and at the same distance?
After we plated the area and collected the stones we marked the ground with the idea of what we wanted, then some went down there on the road and communicating on cell phones we were correcting the errors. We had to go down and up this hill several times before finishing the job.
Did you ever think of another sentence?
We had two proposals: "COMANDANTE FOLLOW YOUR EXAMPLE" and "FIDEL VIVE". In the end we decided on this one.
I remember that the day that the caravan passed with the remains of Fidel the helicopter took several turns on the poster to take it out on television. Here we had a base amplified radio and we heard when the journalist said that in a hill of Palm Soriano read "FIDEL VIVE".
You imagine the pride of all here, to pay homage to Fidel and to see how our humble work was recognized. Also many tourists stop on the road and from there shoot photos.
Will you keep the poster?
We have proposed from the institutions to make here something more beautiful, more aesthetic. But as long as we keep it that way. You saw, today we had to organize some stones because the animals water them.
It is hopeful to find people with these initiatives, who with their possibilities and resources went to the top of "La Cumbre" to shout to the world, from the Aguacate community in Palma Soriano, that "FIDEL VIVE".
The original idea must be maintained. These letters born of the inspiration of the settlers enclose the love and the memory of these people towards Fidel. People of grateful hearts.