The Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS) of Cuba announced this Thursday that work activities across the country will pause on July 25, 26, and 27, in observance of National Rebellion Day, according to the official Granma publication.
The break coincides with the 73rd anniversary of the assault on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks, which took place on July 26, 1953, a date that the Cuban regime considers the symbolic beginning of the Revolution.
The national central event this year will be held in Pinar del Río, designated as the venue for July 26 by the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba on June 27th.
The MTSS specified that the break does not apply to a long list of sectors considered essential: sugar harvest and urgent agricultural work, continuous production industries, urgent loading and unloading tasks, transportation, hospitals, pharmacies, fuel sales, funeral homes, cemeteries, accommodation, tourism, communications, radio and television, basic public services, and fishing.
Workers in those sectors who are required to work during the three days will receive double pay for all hours worked, in accordance with Article 111 of the Labor Code.
The ministry also clarified that those who are on paid annual leave, unpaid leave, social security benefits, or wage guarantees "continue to receive such treatment" without any changes.
A specific point in the official communication addresses this week's calendar: July 26 falls on a Sunday, which under different circumstances could mean moving the day off to the following Monday.
However, the MTSS was explicit in stating that "it is not appropriate to move the holiday from July 26, 2026, because although it coincides with the Sunday break, the following day is a holiday."
This three-day recess formula —July 25, 26, and 27— is an established practice that the regime repeats annually.
The same measure was applied in 2025 and in 2022 with identical exceptions and the same salary treatment. The exception was 2023, when the regime declared holidays from July 25 to 28, extending the break to four days.
Pinar del Río hosts the central event for the fourth time in history, having previously done so in 1976, 2000, and 2017.
The PCC justified the appointment by citing the province's results in tobacco production, renewable energy, and other economic and social indicators, although the daily reality for Cubans in that province and others continues to be marked by prolonged blackouts and shortages of food and medicine.
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