Holguin Commemorates the Execution of Eight Medical Students

Every year, students at the University of Medical Sciences of Holguin (UCMHo) commemorate the execution of eight medical students. Which took place on November 27th, 1871. On the 154th anniversary of this tragic event, the students have not forgotten it. Considering it one of the most unjust and tragic in Cuban history.

The young men were unjustly accused of desecrating the tomb of Don Gonzalo Castañón. Even though three of the eight were not even at the cemetery that day. For this reason, the medical students feel a deep connection to the eight students. A connection they feel every day in the hospitals, in the wards, in every person who decides to become a doctor, to save lives.

Anyone who has seen the Cuban film “Inocencia,” which so aptly portrays the event, is deeply moved and cannot help but feel a closer connection to them. Although more than a century and a half has passed, this date is not forgotten.

Accounts from that time tell us that it was one of the first courses in the medical program offered at the University of Havana. Also the struggle of the student body continued from then on. Today, amidst numerous challenges, medical students give their all to continue their training and contribute to the health of the population.

In the early hours of every November 27th, on the steps of the Medical Sciences Residence in Holguin. A symbolic roll call is held with the names of those executed. Medical students make a pilgrimage to that spot, never letting the date go unnoticed.

The ceremony also paid tribute to Mariana Grajales Cuello, the mother of the Maceo brothers. An undisputed symbol of Cuban women, who died at the age of 78 on November 27th, 1893. She is currently a source of pride for the Faculty of Medical Sciences in Holguin, which bears her name.