PLAZA DE LA REVOLUCIÓN

The Havana people simply call it the Plaza, because, of all the Cuban squares, it is undoubtedly the best known and the most significant. Larger than the Plaza de la Concorde, it is still too small for large political gatherings, especially the one on May^1st. The Ministry of the Interior, the National Theater, the National Library and the building housing the Council of State, the Council of Ministers and the Central Committee of the Communist Party frame the square, which makes this Revolutionary Square the epicenter of political life in Cuba and explains the large police presence there, even if it is not immediately noticeable... What is striking are the huge portraits of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos that dominate the square.

It is in this vast space that the Cubans have taken, since 1959, the most important decisions of their history. Fidel Castro has made long and passionate speeches in front of huge crowds of attentive listeners. Contrary to what many foreigners imagine, the Plaza de la Revolución is not the work of the revolutionary government, since the idea of building a civic plaza goes back to the advent of the republic. It was in 1953, during the Batista regime, that the construction of the Plaza Cívica began, which was renamed Plaza de la Revolución on July 16, 1961. The first major event celebrated after the triumph of the revolution was the International Workers' Day on May¹, 1961.