From the formation of the Movement to the events of 26 July 1953, nothing was the work of chance. Everything was well thought out, and great obstacles were faced and overcome.

 More than 1,200 combatants, who had been recruited, came overwhelmingly from the poorest strata of the people and were characterized by Fidel Castro, its leader, as "almost all workers, coming from the city and the countryside, and some students and professionals uncontaminated by the vices of traditional politics..."

 For example, Abel Santamaría was an accountant and student; Raúl Gómez García, a teacher; José Luis Tassende, a mechanic; Pedro Marrero, a worker; Fernando Chenard, a photographer; Giraldo Córdova Cardín, an amateur boxer; Osvaldo Socarrás, a car parker; Pablo Agüero, a bricklayer; Boris Luis Santa Coloma, a trade union leader; Roberto Mederos, shop assistant, and Elpidio Sosa, a travelling salesman.

 They were cheerful, simple, responsible, lovers of family, freedom, the homeland... These young people were called the Centenary Generation not only because of their age, but also because of their willingness to fight: Miguel Ángel Oramas, who had turned 17 five weeks before the attack on the Moncada Barracks, and the agricultural worker Manuel Rojo, who was over 50, went into combat together.

 On learning that the "zero hour" had arrived, Dr. Mario Muñoz Monroy said to Fidel, emotionally: "What date you have chosen! Today I turn 41, and I put it in your hands, you who are 26 years old!

 Two girls who had taken part in the preparations, Haydée Santamaría and Melba Hernández, also left Granjita Siboney, this time in the last car, together with Raúl Gómez García and Dr. Muñoz, on their way to Saturnino Lora Hospital, where another prominent leader of the Movement, Abel Santamaría, was already waiting.

 "This is born, it doesn't end. With this we begin". These were Abel's last words when the group of fighters under his command in the civilian hospital ran out of ammunition and was surrounded by the enemy, and they reaffirm the infinite confidence of the protagonists of the actions of 26 July 1953 in the justice of the battle undertaken and the triumph of the ideals for which they had thrown themselves into combat in the historic early hours of the morning.

 For his part, Jesús Montané Oropesa, involved in the leadership and its preparations, participated in the seizure of Sentry Post #3 of the Moncada Barracks and donated his five years of savings to buy the weapons that would be used in the action.

 They had conceived a simple and practical plan, based on previous revolutionary experiences: seize a barracks, occupy the weapons there, hand them over to the people and begin the struggle with the support of the popular masses. At first, the Regiment #8 Rius Rivera, in Pinar del Río, was considered, but it was finally decided that it would be in the Oriente, specifically in the cities of Santiago de Cuba and Bayamo.

Sixty-eight years after the assault on the military fortresses, it is easier to understand what those young revolutionaries were made of when they launched themselves into a tremendously unequal struggle and the greatness of spirit with which they gambled on death or victory.

 The attack on the Moncada Barracks, that heroic action by a group of young men, sent shockwaves throughout Cuban youth because of its message of courage, self-sacrifice, and absolute faith in the path they had chosen above all, because of the example, they left to that and future generations.