Slavery, a phenomenon that was present in Cuba for many years, left a deep social imprint, influencing the youngest generations through traditions, customs and religion.

Many places throughout Cuba are reminders of thousands of men, women and children who were brought to the Caribbean Island by force and could never return home.

Under those circumstances, several programs have been created to spread the reality of that cruel process, and its social influence is the foundation of a project known as the Slave's Route in Cuba.

That way, Cuba has implemented a project sponsored by international agencies, which have also boosted similar programs in Central America and Asia.

The project includes museums and monuments like the Castle of San Severino and the ruins of the Triunvirato sugar mill, which are symbols of developments that marked slavery in Cuba.

That is also the case of the Monument to the Runaway Slave, in the town of El Cobre, in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba.

Cuban history has recorded several rebellions by African slaves, all of which were cruelly repressed, leaving a deep imprint on Cuba society.

Generally, the word "cimarrón" (runaway slave) was used in the American continent during the Spanish colonial period to call the slaves who escaped from severe exploitation.

In Cuba, "cimarrón" is also linked to the word "palenque", which was the hiding place of runaway slaves, who were constantly persecuted by "rancheadores" (slave hunters) paid by slave owners,

Thus the importance of building a monument on the remains of a hill called Cardenillo, to perpetuate the culture of runaway slaves.

Precisely, the statue, created by Cuban artist Alberto Lescay, was unveiled in an area severely devastated by centuries of copper mining, as part of the Slave's Route in the Caribbean Island.

The Spanish colonizers' ill treatment of African slaves also led to rebellions throughout the country.

According to experts, the monument is a place to reflect on the high value of resistance and rebelliousness against oppression and injustice.