Since the beginning, with an anthem based on the concept of Revolution stated by Fidel Castro, the parade on the International Workers'' Day was inspired by the leader of the Cuban Revolution. At the Antonio Maceo Revolution Square, the vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers, Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, who was accompanied by top provincial officials, headed the proletarian march.
Maria de los Angeles Cordero, general secretary of the Cuban Workers' Confederation (CTC) in Santiago de Cuba, mentioned, among other motivations for the mass parade, the 60th and 50th anniversaries of the assassinations of clandestine fighter Frank Pais and Guerrilla Commander Ernesto Guevara, respectively.
The union leader also referred to the need for unity as a strength for Cuban society to build socialism and in Latin America to face the attacks by the right wing in its efforts to frustrate revolutionary and progressive processes.
Workers in Santiago de Cuba and their families started the parades in the country as a new demonstration of support for the Revolution and the will to continue the transformations under way as part of the nation's new economic model.