Cuban exiles and Cuban Americans took to the streets of Little Havana in Miami this weekend to mark five years since the historic protests that swept across Cuba on July 11, 2021. According to CBS News Miami, the demonstrators gathered along Calle Ocho, near the well-known Domino Park, in the heart of the city's Cuban community to remember that day and to show that, in their view, the struggle for change on the island is still very much alive.
Carrying a banner that read Cuban Freedom March, the participants walked along the pavement of the neighborhood to keep the memory of the 2021 protests alive. They stressed that the fight for freedom is far from over and openly called for an end to what they described as the island's communist regime, turning the anniversary into a moment of both remembrance and protest.
The gathering was not only about looking back. Those taking part said they also wanted to send a message of support to the Cubans who remain on the island waiting for change, as well as to those who, according to the demonstrators, are still imprisoned as a result of the 2021 protests. For many, the march was a way of showing solidarity from abroad with people they feel are unable to speak out freely at home.
One of the participants explained that the activism runs in the family, recalling how a grandmother had instilled in her the drive to stand up and the desire to see a free Cuba. She said she felt grateful to be able to take part in the event alongside other parents and children, underlining how the cause is passed down through generations within Miami's exile community.
To understand the significance of the date, it is worth recalling what happened five years ago. On July 11, 2021, thousands of Cubans took to the streets across the country to protest against shortages of food and medicine, frequent blackouts and the way the government was handling the COVID-19 pandemic. It became the first major anti-government demonstration the country had seen since 1994.
That wave of protests marked a turning point on the island and continues to resonate strongly within the Cuban diaspora. Each anniversary has become an occasion for the community in Miami to gather, remember those who marched back then and renew their demands, keeping the events of 2021 present in the public conversation year after year.
The political weight of the commemoration was underlined by the presence of local authorities. Miami City Commissioner Rolando Escalona described Saturday's march and rally as a message aimed both at the regime and at the wider world, arguing that the Cuban government has never felt the kind of pressure it is under now. With that, the exile community once again turned Little Havana into a stage for its long-running call for freedom on the island.