Cuban party and government leaders, along with legions of citizens, gathered solemnly to commemorate the "National Rebellion Day" in Ciego de Avila, Cuba, on Saturday, recalling the armed attacks of 70 years ago against army strongholds in eastern Cuba. The rebellion by a group of revolutionaries was led by Fidel Castro to overthrow the government of then-President Fulgencio Batista. The armed action was the beginning of the 1959 Cuban Revolution. On Saturday morning, Cuban Revolution leader Raul Castro, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, and other national leaders joined roughly 10,000 Cubans and supporters from around the world in downtown Ciego de Avila for the commemoration. The ceremony began in early morning to echo the time of the rebellion at 5:00, the exact hour Fidel Castro and the revolutionaries led by him launched their audacious attack 72 years ago. Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said in his address that the event is a landmark in the Cuban people's struggle for genuine independence. Thanks to that first act of defiance, he said, Cuba has become a prosperous, sustainable and sovereign socialist state. Yet U.S. interference has never ceased and over the past 63 years the economic blockade has expanded into every sphere of Cuba. "This brutal blockade remains in force. The current U.S. administration has not altered the tactic of strangling Cuba economically and fomenting despair and internal discontent. Administration after administration, especially the present one, has insisted, from its very first hours in the White House, on subduing the Cuban people through hunger and hardship. They have never achieved that goal, and they never will," he said. The Cubans at the event also said they will not bow to pressure. "Every day we keep facing challenges and overcoming them. We Cubans will not yield," said a local resident. On July 26, 1953, then-leader Fidel Castro led more than 100 young revolutionaries against the Moncada Barracks - the second-largest stronghold of the Batista dictatorship - firing the opening shot of the revolution that would ultimately topple the U.S.-backed regime. Although the assault itself failed, it awakened the Cuban people, and July 26 has since become one of the nation's most important anniversaries. The video shows: Ciego de Avila, Cuba - July 26, 2025 1. Various of officials, attendees at event 2. People dancing on stage 3. Event in progress 4. Various of Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero giving speech, people clapping 5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero (partially overlaid with shot 6): "This brutal blockade remains in force. The current U.S. administration has not altered the tactic of strangling Cuba economically and fomenting despair and internal discontent. Administration after administration, especially the present one, has insisted, from its very first hours in the White House, on subduing the Cuban people through hunger and hardship. They have never achieved that goal, and they never will." ++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++ 6. Attendees ++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++ 7. Officials, attendees at event 8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) local resident (name not given) (ending with shot 9): "Every day we keep facing challenges and overcoming them. We Cubans will not yield." 9. Cuban national flag [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]