01:32Cuba: Castro leads march commemorating Cuban national hero
Cuban President Raul Castro led the 'March of the Torches', commemorating 165 years since the birth of national hero Jose Marti, through Havana on Saturday night.
On the steps of the University of Havana, over 35,000 Cubans met to remember Marti, a symbol of Cuba's struggle for independence from Spain at the end of the 19th century.
After speeches from various student and government leaders, the marchers took to the streets of Havana with their torches held aloft.
The annual event had particular significance this year, as it will be Raul Castro's last before he stands down as the island's leader in April.
The first "March of the Torches" was held in 1953, on the hundredth anniversary of Marti's birth. Some of those early participants, including the Castro brothers, would be instrumental in toppling the regime of Fulgencio Batista in 1958.
01:32Cuban President Raul Castro led the 'March of the Torches', commemorating 165 years since the birth of national hero Jose Marti, through Havana on Saturday night.
On the steps of the University of Havana, over 35,000 Cubans met to remember Marti, a symbol of Cuba's struggle for independence from Spain at the end of the 19th century.
After speeches from various student and government leaders, the marchers took to the streets of Havana with their torches held aloft.
The annual event had particular significance this year, as it will be Raul Castro's last before he stands down as the island's leader in April.
The first "March of the Torches" was held in 1953, on the hundredth anniversary of Marti's birth. Some of those early participants, including the Castro brothers, would be instrumental in toppling the regime of Fulgencio Batista in 1958.