Mariana Grajales Cuello, mother of the Maceo brothers, was honored yesterday, May 14, by the Cuban people on Mothers Day, which has became an opportunity to recognize all women whose children have given their lives for the nation’s liberty.
At her graveside in Santa Ifigenia Cemetery, members of the José Martí Honor Guard, placed a floral wreath in the name of all Cubans, with provincial leaders of the Party and government, Lázaro Expósito Canto and Beatriz Johnson Urrutia, respectively, on hand.
Born in Santiago de Cuba, July 12, 1815, Mariana Grajales passed on a deep love of the homeland to her 14 children, and 11 of them played at least some role in the country’s independence struggle. She died in Kingston, Jamaica, November 27, 1893, and her remains were brought to the historic cemetery in April of 1923.
She participated early on in the Cuban struggle, in the Ten Years War, as a nurse in the Liberation Army’s hospitals, and her example inspired the battle, and all Cuban women, even when she was obliged to leave the country.
Also attending the ceremony were representatives from the Revolutionary Armed Forces, the Ministry of the Interior, the Association of Combatants in the Cuban Revolution, the Federation of Cuban Women, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, and the Association of Small Farmers, as well as relatives of martyrs and the Santiago people.
Following the tribute to Mariana Granjales, Expósito Canto and Johnson Urrutia, walked through the cemetery to pay their respects to other outstanding women buried in Santa Ifigenia, sharing their condolences with the many families on hand visiting the final resting place of their mothers. (Taken from en.granma.cu)
