The Cuban regime inaugurated a childcare center named "13 de Agosto" in the community of San Miguel, located in the municipality of Nuevitas, north of Camagüey, in honor of the centenary of Fidel Castro's birth. According to the official Cuban News Agency (ACN), the facility will begin offering services starting in the upcoming 2026-2027 school year.
The name leaves no room for doubt about the purpose of the event: on August 13, 1926, the dictator who would rule Cuba for nearly five decades was born in Birán. And what better way to celebrate it than to name a nursery after that date, in a country where the cult of personality—although not officially recognized—has no expiration date.
According to the state media, the facility has the capacity for 35 children and employs a staff of 12 workers, in addition to areas for educational activities, an outdoor sleeping area, an amusement park, and administrative offices. To build it, the municipality allocated more than two million pesos from the one percent fund of the Local Development Projects Contribution.
The opening ceremony, as expected, was attended by the main political, governmental, and educational authorities of the region. Luis Manuel Bernal, the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in Nuevitas, spoke and, according to ACN, "expressed the pride of being there at such a special moment, when all of Cuba remembers the Commandant in Chief on his centenary." The leader also "urged the care and preservation of the institution, which has the appropriate conditions for the proper development of girls and boys, and congratulated everyone who participated and contributed to the construction of the center."
The pride of the official contrasts with the reality faced by Cuban families. The island's educational system is going through one of its worst crises: the country is sinking while the tributes to Fidel continue, with a deficit of thousands of teachers, schools in a state of disrepair, and power outages that in March of this year forced the suspension of classes at all levels in Havana, including preschools.
The 2025-2026 school year was concluded early due to the energy crisis, the shortage of fuel, and transportation issues. The regime also suspended university entrance exams for the 2026-2027 academic year, citing an inability to ensure minimum conditions. Meanwhile, Cuban children are facing a bleak outlook marked by boredom, lack of options, and precariousness.
Nuevitas, the municipality where the little house was inaugurated, is not exempt from this scenario. It is unlikely that the new facility will address the structural problems plaguing the municipality, although it certainly fulfills its propagandistic purpose exceptionally well.
The inauguration is part of the official campaign launched by the regime in 2026, declared "Year of the Centenary of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz", featuring events, exhibitions, and numerous inaugurations of works under the centennial theme. One of the most notable moments was the public reappearance of Raúl Castro, aged 95, at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana, to lead the political-cultural event that closed the international colloquium on his brother's legacy.
The regime also carried out structural improvements at Fidel's birthplace in Birán —drainage, access roads, and new parking— while schools across the rest of the country are falling apart.
The official program of tributes will extend until December 4, 2026, the tenth anniversary of Castro's burial at the Santa Ifigenia cemetery in Santiago de Cuba. There will undoubtedly be more inaugurations with names referring to the "Commander in Chief" before the year ends.
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