He had the ability to pleasantly impress those who met him, by his joviality, willpower, simplicity and enthusiasm. He was an avid reader and fan of rowing, swimming, and basketball.

In Mella, Martí's teachings penetrated very deeply. From a very young age he burst onto the political scene as a lucid student guide and, very quickly, his figure acquired national prominence. He was closely linked and identified with the Cuban labor movement and his work contributed to the development of an anti-imperialist consciousness, not only in this sector, but also in the peasantry, the student body and the intelligentsia.

He was the architect of multiple revolutionary institutions. From his pen, countless articles came to light that demonstrate the depth of his thinking. The teachings of Martí, the understanding of Marxism-Leninism and his extraordinary qualities as a leader, allowed him to correctly interpret the national reality, submit to harsh criticism the conditions that existed in Cuba and in America, and draw up an adequate strategy of struggle.

His intransigence in the face of imperialism and his combativeness made him the standard bearer of the fight against our main enemy and for the revolution.

After his historic hunger strike and the continuous persecution of the lackeys of the Gerardo Machado government, Mella was forced to leave the country. From Mexico, he continued his revolutionary work; he remained linked to the Cuban process and his brilliant pen remained active in the complaint against the Machado´s crime.

His incessant preaching against imperialism and its evils, the clarification of the true ideas of Marxism face to its distorters in America and the systematic disclosure of the successes of the Soviet Union, made him a prominent leader on a continental scale.

Reasons enough to arouse concern in Imperialism. On January 10, 1929, on a street in Mexico City, he fell mortally wounded by a bullet, victim of a plot concocted by Machado. His last words were: "I die for the Revolution."

His example has radiated in successive generations of Cubans, who commemorate the 118th anniversary of their birth with the conviction that their ideas remain alive in a Cuba that has not ceased in the fight against Imperialism, that which registers among its most horrendous crimes the murder of Julio Antonio Mella, in full bloom of his youth.