Initiated on January 1, 1961, the Literacy Campaign was one of the most important battles won by the Cuban government and people.
After the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, one of the great ills that society dragged down, due to the previous regimes, was the high rate of illiteracy.
The Campaign in Cuba was carried out by a powerful force, made up of 121 thousand Popular Literacy Teachers, 100 thousand Conrado Benítez brigade members, 15 thousand Patria o Muerte brigade members, 35 thousand volunteer teachers, for a total of 271 thousand educators.
This event demonstrated that bringing the light of knowledge to the people was an awakening for the thousands of Cubans who, since then, did NOT know about learning to read, write and basic arithmetic knowledge.
On December 22, 1961, Cuba declared itself a Territory Free of Illiteracy, in a ceremony held in the Plaza de la Revolución José Martí.
Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, the greatest architect of the feat, expressed in that concentration: “When it was said that Cuba was going to eliminate illiteracy in the single term of one year, which seemed a reckless statement that seemed impossible.”
“Our enemies possibly mocked that promise, possibly laughed at that goal that our people set for themselves. It seemed impossible, because it was really difficult to accomplish such a task in such a short space of time. And it’s true! That would have been an impossible task for a people living under oppression; it would have been an impossible task for any people in the world, except that this task had been set for a people in Revolution”.
In homage to the historic date, the Cuban Educator’s Day is celebrated.
