• Submitted by: admin
• 12 / 05 / 2006

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By Diego Rodríguez Molina

"In my right arm runs Cuban blood and in my left arm runs Mambisa [the name for Cuban War of Independence fighters]," said Luisa Cruz Cardenas who has just celebrated her 100th birthday.

"Im a revolutionary down to my bones," the women from Isla de la Juventud confirms. Cruz Cardenas celebrated her birthday with her daughter, six grandsons, eight great-grandsons, and six great-great-grandsons.

Luisa proudly recalls that her father, Justo Cruz Toledano, was a member of the Cuban Ejercito Libertador and fought under the command of General Calixto Garcia in the eastern region of Cuba during the War of Independence that began in February of 1895.

"He always told us that we should fulfill our duties with the Revolution above all."

"He never got to see a free Cuba, as he died at the age of 100 in 1958, just before the triumph of the Revolution that he so much wanted. Today he would have been happy to see what has been achieved in favor of the people and to see the great majority of his family members working as professionals, technicians and well-educated people."

Luisa Cruz Cardenas has a message for the young people,"never forget the commitment for which people fought and still fight today, keep moving ahead."

At the end of the interview she adds, "Fidel is a Mambi that's why he began the Revolution. He will have a long life in our hearts and ideas."

Source: Granma