Lilian Martínez Gálvez “Lilita”, daughter of Baire, transpires history through the pores when she is invited to recall the heroic deeds of Cuba. This pure-blooded Cuban has been the director of the “Casa Natal Jesús Rabí” Historical Museum for 26 years, located in the downtown area of Baire, 880 kilometers from Havana.
“Lilita,” as everyone knows this lover of Cuban history, witnessed the encounter between the people of Baire and the Commander in Chief of the Rebel Army, Fidel Castro Ruz, on December 9, 1958, when the village was occupied by revolutionary troops and the Batista tyranny army withdrew towards Jiguaní municipality, the next village to the west of Baire.
About that unforgettable event, “Lilita” remembers:
“I was 12 years old on that occasion when the rebels pressured the tyrannical army from the outside of Baire to lay down their arms… From my house I heard that it was necessary to evacuate, to leave the village… But my parents did not leave and they decided that we should all be located in a two-storey house that is very close across from the Museum (…).
(…) It was already 12 p.m. (December 8) or one in the morning of December 9 that we heard: “Fidel arrived at La Comercial (…)” I remember that there was no electricity (…) We had been out of power for three months as a result of the war (…) And a cousin of mine said to me: Well, let’s go to Comercial! (…) And so we did.
(…) There weren’t many people because of the hour and the darkness but I remember that Fidel shook my hand… I never forget his hand so smooth and gentle… he talked a lot with the people there and gave away some candies of many colors, of those they call lollipops. I did not taste mine, but I kept it in a velvet box for a long time until it was spoiled (…) But I always keep Fidel Castro’s lovely expression in my memory.