Day to honor students who died at the hands of the Spanish government in Cuba (27/11)

November 27 in Cuba — memorable date — Day honoring students who died at the hands of the Spanish government.

On this day in 1871, eight first-year students of the Havana Medical University were shot in Havana by order of the government. Anacleto Bermudez Gonzalez, Alonso Alvarez, Pascual Rodriguez Perez, Carlos Augusto de Latorre, Angel Laborde, Carlos Verdugo, Eladio Gonzalez Toledo and Jose de Marcos Medine — all of Cuba knows their names.

They were accused of desecrating the grave of a senior Spanish official, — Gonzalo Castagnon. But in fact, their main fault was that they were Cubans.

Ten years after the tragic verdict, the charges were proven wrong. The students were posthumously acquitted.

On the island of freedom, young people are honored as having died for the cause of the revolution.

Every year on November 27, youth and student organizations in Cuba hold rallies and processions in memory of the students shot. In Havana, their participants go from the University of Havana to the mausoleum in memory of students. Students from the capital's medical university are traditionally the first to march.

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