On the 7th of December, Cubans commemorate a National Day of Mourning, a Memorial Day to honor those who died fighting for Cuban independence. The date was selected to particularly honor the death of General J. Antonio Maceo y Grajales, who was killed on December 7, 1896 at Punta Brava (22 miles SW of Havana), when he was close to completing the Western Campaign that took the Independence War of 1895 to the western regions of the island.
Antonio Maceo—popularly known as the Bronze Titan, an allusion to both his military genius and his skin color—is remembered for his unwavering allegiance to the cause of Cuban freedom since the Independence War of 1868, his opposition to an arranged peace agreement to end that war in 1878, his personal sacrifices during seventeen years in exile planning to re-confront imperial Spain on the battlefield, and his courage and military prowess amidst difficult circumstances.
