It is not trying to repeat them, or mechanically reproducing their ideals what makes us honor the great ones of our country's history. First, because they are unrepeatable, and second, because they did not bequeath deep thoughts for a simple learning of words, but as lessons of life that need to be enriched in the daily work in order to take root.

This is how the peoples build their most sacred values, because to the processes of apprehension of the valuable legacies that make up their historical evolution, they incorporate the popular wisdom of building, of fighting for the causes that are closer to them, more of their own, of doing that requires convictions to materialize.

Only when that continuity is a conciliatory bond between predecessors and those who decide to give course in the future to the path initiated by them, there is truly the certainty of recognizing ourselves in those who never by ambition, but by the merit given by the infinite sacrifices for the good of the Homeland, inscribed their names in the select parchment of immortality.

That is why when we Cubans affirm our recognition of an ideal as a flag, this intrinsic affirmation contains all the sincerity of a wise people, who with the experience of their untiring battle and their always clear and just goals, know perfectly well what such a choice is all about, and what it implies for their own existence, growth and freedom.

Let us know, then, how far-reaching is the dimension of what already constitutes for us a tradition, a principle with treasured zeal, an indispensable guide in the construction of a just society: to know that we are .inalienably Martianos.

To revive in each day of the present the immense work of the Apostle, to assume it as a sincere interpretation of human nature, of the spheres of duty, of the seldom so masterfully understood correlation of saying and doing, is both a challenge and a privilege.

Challenge, because it takes a lot of dedication to live up to such dignity, to the humility that coexists with unlimited detachment, to the wisdom that is not satisfied with today, but aims at tomorrow. Privilege, because although he is a radiated example for the world, Cuba was the inspiring mother of all the nobility and libertarian love that always accompanied him.

To walk the path of deep virtues and meritorious acts that Martí traced with his existence, has been an indescribable motivation in every historical moment that followed his walk through this land. To recognize him as the ideologue par excellence of the Cuban people's struggle to free themselves from oppressive ties, served to give course to the noblest endeavors in pursuit of making that dream come true.

Say Fidel, and you will have quoted the greatest Martiano of all times, the visionary who took the legacy of his thought to the highest level of interpretation and realization and who, even after the triumph, always maintained the defense at all costs of the study of his work as an indispensable component in the formation of every revolutionary.

It is not possible to visualize a single moment in the construction of Cuban socialism without the latent presence of an Apostle who seems to renew himself as each step consolidates the strength of this common work, in whose growth all the noble hands have joined together, knowing that "the Homeland is an altar and not a pedestal" and that love for it is also "the invincible hatred of those who oppress it and the eternal resentment of those who attack it".

Dark storms are looming over this humanity, which, incapable of uniting to protect itself, has sustained its insubstantial differences on the unpostponable need to march for the common good. However, Cuba has once again been a torrent of solidarity, a clear voice of hope amidst murmurs of death and abandonment, a beacon for Latin America and the world as always predicted by that star that was born on Paula Street.

In these times, new dimensions have been added to our Marti's precepts, because this time  is not only about the defense of the redeeming land in which we live (a permanent premise of Cuban men and women), it is about assisting the dispossessed, about opening the way to life among the conflicts of power.

We are witnessing a moment in which the humanism that runs through our veins is multiplying, in which internationalism is increasing, in which we are more anti-imperialist than ever, because without any trace of shame, that enemy of the peoples is betting on an asphyxiation as cruel or crueler than the one caused in the sick by the deadly virus.

We are Martianos, yes, and there is an overflowing pride in this affirmation. The pride of drinking from such a crystalline source of values, of knowing that the choice of duty is not always the most pleasant experience, but it is the one that most enhances the human being. The pride of those who know they are useful and understand that today's sacrifice is the guarantee of tomorrow's smile.

It is January and it is therefore inevitable that fidelity to your legacy flourishes, because 168 years after that birth of Leonor, you continue to educate, to build the ethics that you preached from your personal example, to move feelings that go beyond the scope of an individual to become universal.

Martí, although it is true that the approach of Cubans to your legacy begins with the guidance of more mature generations, who show in your words and deeds how exemplary the existence of a man can be, it does not take long for the conscience itself, even in childhood, to be inclined to love with transparency the one who is first the author of The Golden Age and later, the reflection of indispensable concepts for life and action.

You inhabit the sacred space of paradigms, that which your people have reserved to form their convictions, to discern between the just and the cruel, between truth and falsehood.  That, thanks to which we can distinguish the true patriot from the salaried mercenary, who pretends to want the best for his country.

In that way we feel you as ours, in that way we honor you. Today and always, on the chest of those of us who are both fruit and tree of the Revolution, continuity of today and example of tomorrow, your name can be read because every revolutionary is inhabited by a Martí.

(Taken from Granma)

English version Hector Hdez.