The Ceremonial Unit of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces ( es, Unidad Ceremonial de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias) is a ceremonial rituals battalion of the

Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias; FAR) are the military forces of Cuba. They include ground forces, naval forces, air and air defence forces, and other paramilitary bodies including the Territorial Tro ...

. Since its foundation on December 15, 1961, the male and female members of the unit has provided honours for the

Communist Party of Cuba The Communist Party of Cuba ( es, Partido Comunista de Cuba, PCC) is the sole ruling party of Cuba. It was founded on 3 October 1965 as the successor to the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution, which was in turn made up of the 26t ...

, the

Government of Cuba Cuba has had a socialist political system since 1959 based on the "one state – one party" principle. Cuba is constitutionally defined as a Marxist–Leninist state. The present Constitution of Cuba, which was passed in a 2019 referendum, also ...

, and the

Revolutionary Armed Forces A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

(FAR). The unit uses intense physical and political techniques, including martial, maintain the discipline that is required for the soldiers and officers of the ceremonial unit.

Ceremonial functions and history

The unit's main function is the perform the changing of the guard every half-hour at the

José Marti José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

Mausoleum inside

Santa Ifigenia Cemetery Santa Ifigenia Cemetery (Spanish: Cementerio Santa Ifigenia) is a cemetery in Santiago de Cuba and resting place of a few notable Cubans. The cemetery opened in 1868 to replace smaller Cemetery of Santa Ana. The signature resting place is th ...

. In addition to providing honors related to protocol (funeral honors,

presentation of credentials A letter of credence (french: Lettre de créance) is a formal diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to anot ...

, the delivery of national medals, welcoming of foreign naval fleets, wreath laying ceremonies, street lining for

military parades A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

on the

Plaza de la Revolución Plaza de la Revolución (), "Revolution Square", is a municipality (or borough) and a square in Havana, Cuba. The municipality, one of the 15 forming the city, stretches from the square down to the sea at the Malecón and includes the Vedado d ...

). The unit represents the revolutionary armed forces during arrival ceremonies at the

Palace of the Revolution The Palace of the Revolution ( es, Palacio de la Revolución), is a palace in Havana, Cuba within the Plaza de la Revolución that serves as the house of the Cuban government and the First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party. History The ord ...

for

state visits A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, with musical accompaniment provided by the Band of the Ceremonial Unit. In recent years, the unit has taken part in the welcoming of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

the Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...

and

Felipe IV Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. During the honors for Soviet leader

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet Union, Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Gener ...

in 1974, the unit's color guard carried the branch colors of the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, and

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

. Outside of the country, the unit has most notably taken part in the

2015 China Victory Day Parade The 2015 China Victory Day parade was a military parade held along Chang'an Avenue, Beijing, on 3 September 2015 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day of World War II. The commemoration was the first high-profile military ...

. During the rehearsals for the parade, the 82 member formation was often noted for being the last ones on the drill field and the few to use

chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. Th ...

such as

Tai chi Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an neijia, internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and medita ...

in their exercises. The unit also played a large role in the

death and state funeral of Fidel Castro 90-year old former First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Council of State, Fidel Castro died of natural causes at 22:29 ( CST) in the evening of 25 November 2016. His brother, the then-President of the State Council ...

in November 2016. In 1991, the Ceremonial Unit debuted an historical dress uniform worn during the opening ceremony of the

1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba from August 2 to August 18, 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the Pan American Sports Organization, PASO community, with events in 33 different sports. The main stadium was ...

held in Havana, inspired by the

rayadillo Rayadillo was a blue-and-white striped cotton or flannel material used to make the military uniforms worn by Spanish colonial soldiers from the mid 19th century until the early 20th century. It was commonly worn by soldiers posted in overseas Sp ...

-styled uniforms worn by the Cuban revolutionary soldiers of the War of Independence and the Spanish-American War. Holidays that are covered by the unit include: *

Triumph of the Revolution Triumph of the Revolution () also known as Liberation Day () is a celebration in Cuba of the anniversary of the victory of the revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1959 which established the present government in Cuba. The previous president, Fulgenc ...

(1 January) *

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

(2 January) *

Day of the Cuban Armed Forces The Day of the Cuban Armed Forces is a national holiday in Cuba celebrated annually on December 2 commemorating the landing of the Granma (yacht), Granma which brought the Castro brothers and their supporters from Mexico to Cuba to start their revo ...

(2 December) *Day of the National Rebellion (26 July) *Independence Day (10 October) The unit also includes in its ranks a ceremonial

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to fac ...

which fires

21-gun salute A 21-gun salute is the most commonly recognized of the customary gun salutes that are performed by the firing of cannons or artillery as a military honor. As naval customs evolved, 21 guns came to be fired for heads of state, or in exceptiona ...

s in state events.

Gallery

File:Ofrenda floral a los restos de José Martí (9375950478).jpg, A wreath laying team led by unit commander José Luis Peraza López at the

José Martí Memorial The José Martí Memorial ( es, Monumento a José Martí) is a memorial to José Martí, a national hero of Cuba, located on the northern side of the Plaza de la Revolución in the Vedado area of Havana. It consists of a star-shaped tower, a stat ...

. File:Santiago de Cuba - Garde au Mausolée José Marti.JPG, Three guardsmen departing from the changing of the guard. File:Vladimir Putin in Cuba 14-17 December 2000-3.jpg,

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

accompanied by Castro and the unit commander, inspecting members of the honour guard outside the office of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

, December 2000. File:Russian Defence Minister visited tank division Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba and laid a wreath to the Soviet soldiers-internationalists memorial 10.jpg, Members of the units at a memorial to Soviet troops. File:Lula and Castro9838.jpeg,

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party, ...

and

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

inspecting the unit.

External links

Videos

A military formation of the unit a the

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

The Changing of the Guard
in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

in 2008
Парад, посвященный 70-летию Великой Победы на Кубе

Sources

{{Reflist Guards of honour Military units and formations established in 1961 Military units and formations of Cuba