“It’s better to die standing than live on your knees”

Santo Domingo- "It’s better to die standing than live on your knees," exclaimed an excited Mayobanez Vargas at the close of the documentary "The June 1959 expeditions: Towards freedom or death", written and directed by journalist Fernando Quiroz.

For nearly two hours the documentary shown at the National Theatre revealed the impact of the June 14, 1959, expedition known as the La raza Inmortal (Immortal Race).

Quiroz said the film and research seek to contribute to sustain the national memory on the feat and will of a group of men who sacrificed their lives for the cause of freedom.

Two of the expedition’s living survivors’ gripping testimonies –Cuban-born commander Delio Gomez Ochoa, and Mayobanez Vargas- recalled the terror, brutality and sadism which the dictator Rafael Trujillo unleashed on his adversaries.

"We succeed. Because Trujillo is buried," stated the survivor Poncio Pou Saleta in the documentary.