Rep. María Elvira Salazar, U.S. Representative for Florida’s 27th congressional district and a prominent voice on Cuban-American issues, marked May 20 with a series of posts reflecting on the significance of the date for Cubans both on the island and in exile.
In her first post on May 20, 2026, Salazar wrote: “Hoy es 20 de mayo. La misma fecha que mi abuela Elvira, mi abuelo Rafael, y millones de familias cubanas mantuvieron viva en el corazón como una promesa sagrada, que la Cuba que nació libre en 1902 volvería a ser libre algún día. Sesenta y siete años de tiranía no pudieron”.
Later that day, she continued in English: “Today is a glorious day. Not only for the Cubans on the island, but for every Cuban in exile, for every family torn apart, for every neighbor, every friend, every loved one who spent their life waiting to go home. For 67 years, a group of gangsters seized a nation and turned it” (May 20, 2026).
She reiterated her message in Spanish: “Hoy es un día glorioso. No solo para los cubanos en la isla, sino para cada cubano en el exilio, para cada familia separada, para cada vecino, cada amigo y cada ser querido que ha pasado su vida esperando el día de volver a casa. Durante 67 años, los Castro y una pandilla de” (May 20, 2026).
May 20 marks Cuban Independence Day—the anniversary of Cuba’s formal independence from the United States in 1902. The date has long held symbolic importance among Cuban exiles and those advocating for democracy in Cuba. For over six decades since the rise of Fidel Castro’s government in 1959—a period referenced by Salazar as “67 years of tyranny”—many Cuban families have been separated by political circumstances.
Salazar’s statements reflect ongoing sentiments within the Cuban diaspora regarding hopes for political change and eventual reunification with their homeland.