Cuba celebrated the 55th anniversary of its socialist revolution on Wednesday with a mass meeting in Cespedes Park in Santiago de Cuba.

Santiago is the city in which rebel leader Fidel Castro heralded the arrival of the island's socialist future.

President Raul Castro spoke on Wednesday from the same place in which his brother announced to the world on January 1 1959 the victory of the uprising against US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.

The event was attended by top officials, leaders of the Cuban Communist Party, members of the government, relatives of national heroes and veterans of the revolution.

"It's been 55 years of constant struggle against the plans of 11 US administrations that, with varying hostility, have not stopped in their goal to change the economic and social regime brought about by the revolution," President Castro told a crowd of some 3,000 people.

He warned against "ideological and political subversion aimed at toppling our socialist system."

Mr Castro said that "global power centres" were "subtly introducing neoliberal and neocolonial thinking" to Cuba.

But his proclaimed his confidence that the country "would emerge victorious."

Cuba blames a US embargo since 1960 for strangling its economy but the government has also acknowledged it must reform the state-run system.

"The revolution's programme will be updated every five years so that it can always answer to the true interests of the people and promptly correct any errors," said President Castro in the speech, which was broadcast across the socialist island.

"This will also ensure the continued development and deepening of our social democracy."

During 48 years of progress and intense struggle against the embargo which threatened to destroy its economy Cuba was governed by Fidel, who became seriously ill in July 2006 and was replaced by Raul.

Raul was then elected president in 2008 and re-elected in 2013 for another five-year term.

Fidel, who is now 87 and in delicate health, did not attend the commemoration ceremony.