Camilo Cienfuegos, Nowhere to be Found

Camilo Cienfuegos, Nowhere to be Found / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 28 October 2016 – Every October 28 the action is
repeated, already converted into a tradition in the elementary schools
throughout the country. Children bring flowers to their classrooms and
from there leave to through them into the sea as a reminder of Commander
Camilo Cienfuegos, who disappeared in 1959 in strange circumstances.
Over time, the historical details have become blurred, the official
version of events has become highly schematic, while students made
comparisons or ask uncomfortable questions.

This morning, at a school in Havana, a preschool teacher tried to
explain to her five-year-old students that "the Gentleman of the
Vanguard" was lost at sea and they never found "anything at all" of him,
not a single trace. The response of one of the little children
disconcerted the energetic teacher, "Yes, teacher, I was at the beach
once with my cousin and he lost a toy in the water that never came back…
we looked everywhere and we never never found it."

For new generations of Cubans, Camilo is that gentleman of the big hat
and diaphanous laughter… of whom there is "nothing, nothing" left.

Source: Camilo Cienfuegos, Nowhere to be Found / 14ymedio – Translating
Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/camilo-cienfuegos-nowhere-to-be-found-14ymedio/