On September 28, 1960, as Fidel Castro was holding a speech, bombs were heard exploding close by and Castro (legend says it was spontaneous) then reacted to the explosions announcing the foundation of a nationwide network of neighborhood-watch committees to fight counter revolutionary activities.
And so it happened. No apartment, no house, no family in Cuba that does not belong to a CDR (Comité de Defensa de la Revolución). The role of these CDR has changed a bit over the years. It started as a neighborhood watch organization, but other activities also became standard procedure, like initiatives for blood donations, voluntary neighborhood cleaning, help in organizing the big mass marches and frequent assemblies to attend suggestions, ideas and complaints of the people, to name a few.
So, in Cuba every year September 28 is being celebrated as the CDR anniversary, usually with a ‘caldosa’ (a heavy broth of many ingredients that takes hours to cook but which always turns into quite a show for everybody), on the eve of the 28th.
The new national head of the CDR was just announced some weeks ago, it is Gerardo Hernandez, well known as being the leader of the so-called Cuban-Five (Los Cinco Heroes, in Cuba) a group that had been infiltrated in the Miami exile Cuban scene to find out about possible attacks against Cuba. So, in a way, it is quite fitting that he is new CDR head.
Obviously, there will be no ‘caldosa’, no neighborhood party in the streets this year. Anyway, here are some pictures from over the years, a little mishmash of photos; at the end, a ‘caldosa’ of images…
