The last stage of the struggles of our people to achieve their definitive and total independence, which began on July 26th, 1953; and that ended with the revolutionary triumph of January 1st, 1959, had as its authors humble men and women, mainly young, from that people that the Commander-in-Chief defined in a masterly way, in the trial for the events of the Moncada. One of them, a young man of his time who expressed his dissatisfaction with the prevailing regime and began to fight against the tyranny of Fulgencio Batista was, Froilán Quirós Iglesias.
His birth is registered on April 18th, 1931, in Camagüey. The son of Gilberto and Isabel, a large peasant family, who move to the city with the objective of improving their way of life and precarious economic situation; he ranks as the youngest of ten siblings.
Due to the difficult economic situation of the family, he is forced to abandon his studies when he was in fifth grade. During his adolescence he becomes an orphan and stars living under the protection of his older brothers.
He works as an apprentice in a carpentry workshop, where he learns the trade of varnishing, a task that he manages to perform with refined artistry.
Revolutionary activity
He was passionate about music, a manifestation that allows him greater mobility in the underground movement.
His revolutionary activity takes place in the first neighborhood of the city, passing the Central Highway, after the Cemetery.
He participates in actions of sabotage of the electric lighting in his neighborhood and in the preparation of the strike on April 9th, the group meeting in his own house; while the other meeting point was at Cristo Park.
As the strike did not take place, it was decided that the group dispersed and carried out various actions.
Death
It is precisely in one of these actions that Froilán heroically falls. He loses his life in an event on the Central Highway, when attacking an Urban Bus, shooting at the tires to render it useless and hinder his progress, without noticing that behind the Bus there was a patrol car.
He decides by himself, with a revolver, to cover the withdrawal of his companions. Hidden behind a guasima, he fights against Batista’s henchmen, who show off their weapons and superiority, machine-gunning the place.
Froilán falls dead quickly; he was the subject of a monstrous cruelty. His body had eighty-two perforations and bullet holes. He died on April 13th, 1958, just five days after his 28th birthday.
Tribute and remembrance
After the revolutionary triumph of January 1st, 1959, in the place where he was massacred, a monument was erected for the people of Cuba, current and future generations, and especially the people of Camagüey; let us not forget our martyrs. With the aim of forever paying an eternal tribute of remembrance and homage to those who fell for the independence of the Homeland.
This brave young man is buried in the General Cemetery of Camagüey, his remains are found in the Pantheon of the Fallen in Defense, it is No. 91. Located in the 4th Section, Southwest Square (SW).
The knowledge and dissemination of his exemplary life, given for the sake of an ideal: freedom, is part of the route of the Patriotic Path, “Camagüeyan Martyrs of the insurrectionary struggle of 1953-1967”; idea of the Office of the Historian that will materialize when the Interpretation Center is inaugurated, which has as one of its objectives, to do historical justice to all the figures that are buried in our Necropolis.
Bibliography: Síntesis Biográficas de Mártires Camagüeyanos 1953-1967. Sección de Investigaciones Históricas- Comité Provincial del Partido- Camagüey/ págs. 76-77.
Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García
