Ernesto Lucas Ruiz was a prominent revolutionary fighter who was born on February 20th, 1907 in Camagüey, when he was only 10 years old, he began to work as a messenger and canteen delivery man in his mother’s kitchen to be able to pay for his studies at the private Academy, reaching only through 6th grade. At the age of 22 he traveled to the United States and returned when he was 31 years old, when he mastered the English language, his friends began to call him the American.

For some time he worked as a bricklayer and helped build several houses in La Vigía neighborhood. In 1939 he married Verónica Roldán Vistel, from this union his only daughter Elba Lucas Roldán was born. Ernesto was a cheerful and peaceful man, with a smile always on his face, with an energetic temperament. Everyone who knew him loved him and admired him for his qualities.

Main revolutionary activities

He began his revolutionary activities in 1957 following the death of Rodolfo Ramírez Esquivel, where he joined the underground struggle. His most effective work was in the city. By December, the dictatorship was after his capture, the SIM agents had visited his house, for which reason he does not return when he finds out from his wife.

During a confrontation on January 3rd, 1959 between the rebel forces and a group of henchmen who were entrenched in what is now the “Manuel Ascunce Domenech” Provincial Hospital, then under construction, he falls mortally wounded.

Currently, as a way of remembering such an important historical fact, the Office of the Historian of our city has taken on the task of preserving this site, where there is a bronze plaque.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García