Cuba held rallies and marches in all provinces on Thursday to celebrate the May Day International Workers' Day, with workers unions, citizens, and global visitors gathered at Havana's Revolution Square for a grand parade.
The May Day parades have been an annual tradition in the country since the victory of the 1959 revolution. For this year, the parades called for solidarity amid global economic turbulence and higher U.S. sanctions.
Started in the early morning, enthusiastic marchers and union workers grouped in blocs representing different unions, holding banners with all kinds of slogans to show support for the government and celebrate the national event.
The parade was presided over by top Cuban government and Communist Party leaders including former President Raul Castro, current President Miguel Diaz-Canel, and Premier Manuel Marrero.
In his remarks at the rally, Cuban Workers' Confederation leader Ulises Guilarte said that this year's celebration took place amid a complex world scenario, marked by the rise of a new and dangerous imperialist offensive. However, Cuban people will keep struggling for a better future, noted Guilarte.
The island country has long been coping with an economic crisis marked by high inflation, shortages, and U.S. sanctions, but the crowds showed their support for the government with the enthusiastic march.
"The revolution remains alive, our revolution will keep advancing; and despite the difficulties we are facing, we are still living a happy life, and we are eager to reach new and nice achievements for our nation," said Lucia Rodriguez, a local demonstrator.
More than 1,000 social activists from around the world also joined the celebration at the Revolution Square, demonstrating against the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba.
"I can imagine, due to the blockade, that Cuba needs to have strong relationships of solidarity, so I'm so happy I can be here, and be part of those relationships," said a Canadian activist during the event.
Cuba holds rallies, parades to celebrate International Workers' Day
Cuba holds rallies, parades to celebrate International Workers' Day
Li Li, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) from southwest China's Guizhou Province, has made it her mission to preserve and promote the rich cultural heritage of the Buyi people, particularly their traditional clothing.
Born and raised in a village of Qinglong County, Qianxinan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Li began learning the intricate handicrafts of the Buyi people from her mother at a young age.
After spending over a decade working away from home, she felt a strong calling to return and safeguard her cultural roots. In 2015, she returned to her roots to start a business with the vision to revitalize Buyi clothing.
"Starting my own business was really tough in the beginning. If you want to make a Western-style suit, you could just buy some fabric and copy an existing design. But ethnic clothing is different. It requires constant innovation, and that takes a huge amount of time. Traditional fabrics tend to fade, and I spent months just trying to figure out how to fix the color. This problem had kept me up for a long time. But eventually, I tackled the challenges one by one," Li said.
Her persistence has paid off. This year, Li's team tapped into the cultural symbolism of the Year of the Horse, creating a range of horse-themed products that have quickly gained popularity.
"This year is the Year of the Horse, so we created a lot of horse-themed items. They are very popular and orders have been pouring in. Every year, we design our cultural products and clothing based on what the market wants. We started with a 300-square-meter workshop, and now we have our own intangible cultural heritage center. Over the years, we've trained more than a thousand embroiderers," she said.
As a grassroots NPC deputy, Li prioritizes listening to the voices of ordinary people. During work sessions with embroiderers, she takes time to listen to their concerns and offers flexible schedules for those with special needs.
The preservation of ethnic clothing and culture has always been at the heart of her work.
"During this year's 'two sessions', I will continue to focus on the preservation of ethnic clothing and culture. I want to encourage more young people to get involved in cultural inheritance. For example, I've been going to schools to teach students because I hope that intangible cultural heritage can take root in children's hearts from an early age. I want them to grow up knowing how remarkable our ethnic culture is and to develop a strong sense of cultural pride," Li said.
The "two sessions" refer to the annual meetings of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Conference, China's top political advisory body,which usually convene in early March.
NPC deputy from Guizhou revitalizes Buyi culture through inheritance and innovation
