July 26 2006 Celebration of the July 26 Attacks on the Moncada Barracks ! MC's Tamara Hansen and Colleen Glynn Tim Louis, Former Vancouver City Councillor Signing a Solidarity Banner for the Cuban 5 Wilson Munoz, Chair of the Unitarian Church Social Justice Ctte Inspiration Sophie Ziner, member of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba Drawing the winning tickets for the raffle	On July 26, 2006, Cuba’s companeros celebrated the Cuban revolution at the Unitarian Church of Vancouver. Joining 11 million people in Cuba, over 90 people celebrated the July 26, 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks in Cuba, which Cuba marks as the beginning of their struggle for sovereignty, human rights, and dignity. The night began with a lively opening by MCs Colleen Glynn and Tamara Hansen, both members of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC), who hosted the night. The program began with the film “On the Hillsides of the Himalayas”, a heartwarming documentary about Cuban doctors who went to Pakistan as aid workers following the 2005 earthquake there. Following the film, Jane Ivanova of the Free the Cuban Five Committee – Vancouver brought Cuba’s struggle for social justice and human rights closer to home, speaking on the case of five Cuban men who have been held in U.S. jails for nearly eight years, simply for defending Cubans against U.S.-sponsored terrorism. Sophie Ziner, an organizer with VCSC who had just returned from traveling with the Pastors for Peace Caravan to Cuba spoke about her experience of seeing the Cuban revolution alive today, through ensuring that everyone has equal access to services like health care and education. Following Sophie, Wilson Munoz, the coordinator of the Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian Church of Vancouver spoke. Wilson noted that the ideas and values that the July 26, 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks brought were not only an inspiration to Cuba, but to all of Latin America. Former Vancouver City Councillor and long-time Cuba solidarity activist Tim Louis noted that the Cuban revolution was a hope not only for Cuba, but for all of Latin America and the world. The final presentation before the music began was a letter from Lindsay Clarke, an organizer with VCSC who was in Cuba on July 26. Lindsay’s letter gave an account of the July 26 celebrations in Cuba, attended by millions of people. The night closed with a dynamic musical performance by Inspiration, who were performing for the first time in public as a group. Inspiration, together with the presentations throughout the night, conveyed the feeling of hope in the struggle for humanity that celebration of July 26 represents in Cuba and around the world. As the last performance wrapped up, dancing continued on into the night, as the finale to the Vancouver celebration of the 53rd anniversary of the beginning spark of the Cuban revolution.