GRITOS DE YARA
In October of 1868 in the City of Yara in Granma Province, the first armed clash between Cubans and Spaniards took place, led by the General-in-Chief of the Liberation Army, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes.
In this engagement, the first Cuban to die for the cause of independence, Fernando Guardia y Céspedes, was killed; on the Spanish side, a soldier surnamed Aguilera also fell. This event signaled to both Cuba and the world that a revolution for independence had begun on the island.