Jul 26, 2008 2:08 pm US/Eastern
Raul Castro Marks Cuba's Revolution Day
Ceremony Begins At 7 P.M. EDT
SANTIAGO, CUBA (CBS4) ―
President Raul Castro, 77, will be in his native eastern Cuba on Saturday to mark the day 55 years ago that he and his brother Fidel led a ragtag band of rebels in an audacious armed attack that launched a revolution.
Official media said Raul Castro would address the nation live on state television and radio from Santiago's Moncada military barracks to mark this year's Revolution Day celebration.
Since taking office, there have been signs of modest reforms. He has opened more unused state land to private farmers, legalized cell phones for ordinary citizens and allowed some workers to seek legal title to their homes.
The July 26, 1953, attack by the Castro brothers and a ragtag band on the Moncada army barracks in the eastern city of Santiago quickly degenerated into disaster. Many rebels were shot dead during the fighting or captured and slaughtered a short time later by Cuban forces.
But the revolutionary movement it gave birth to gained new strength and eventually toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista more than five years later.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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