Cuban troops participate in a military parade in honor of recently deceased Cuban leader Fidel Castro at Revolution Square in Havana, on January 2, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

The rally was divided into several blocks. The first recalled Cuba's history, with horse riders, dressed as "mambises", resembling soldiers who fought for independence from Spain in the 19th century.

It also included a replica of the Granma yacht accompanied by children, and veterans of the guerrilla war in the Sierra Maestra Mountains (1956-58), the Battle of the Bay of Pigs (1961), and volunteers who supported struggles for freedom in Africa.

"I could not miss this meeting with history," said 82-year-old Ruben Perez, a veteran officer of several campaigns, including fighting counter-revolutionary guerrillas, the Bay of Pigs, and the Cuban expeditionary force sent to Angola in November 1975.