Lazaro Peña was born in Havana on May 29, 1911, and like every child, he had a dream: to be a violinist, which he could not realize. As he was the son of a tobacco stalk remover and had lost his father, he started working from an early age.

He was the leader who united Cuban workers in their struggles. After passing through labor and trade union organizations, he assumed the leadership of the Confederation of Cuban Workers, founded on January 28, 1939.

In 1973, he became head of the Department of Mass Organizations at the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC).

The prestige, the work’s solidity, and the contribution of this remarkable trade union leader went beyond borders. He contributed to the foundation of the Latin American Confederation of Workers (CTAL, in Spanish) and the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU).

His life partner, Tania Castellanos, highlighted the sensitivity with which he combined the social and political aspects with the aesthetic, economic, and artistic value and how “filin” artists asked him for political guidance for his lyrics.

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