Exceeds one thousand one hundred signatures appeal of Cuban intellectuals and artists. A sovereign and dignified document, which defends the essence of the Cuban nation, the president wrote on the social network Twitter.

He added that in the tweet that “He has received the support of 90 intellectuals, artists and social activists from 16 countries”, to which he added the hashtag #CubaVive.

The Message from Cuban scientists, educators, journalists, writers and artists to their colleagues from other countries, published a few days ago in the cultural magazine La Jiribilla, already exceeds 1,100 signatures and expresses the feelings of Cuban civil society, led in this case by leading scientists, educators, journalists, writers and artists from all over the country.

This list is prestigious, more than 50 National Prizes of the different artistic manifestations and of Philosophy and History and several journalists awarded the José Martí National Prize for Journalism, highlights the newspaper Juventud Rebelde.

Among the signatures that were added once the document was published, are the scientists Jorge Berlanga, Guadalupe Guzmán and Miguel Limia; the educators Gilberto García Batista and Marta Prieto, the journalists Luis Sexto, Randy Alonso and Rosa Miriam Elizalde.

Also the writers Antón Arrufat and Reinaldo González and the artists Pancho Amat, Haila María Mompié, Bobby Carcassés, Rosario Cárdenas, Manuel Pérez Paredes, Isabel Santos, Eslinda Núñez, Zaida del Río, Roberto Diago and Eduardo Roca Salazar (Choco), among others. many intellectuals and artists of great public recognition.

Likewise, the document has received the support of 90 intellectuals, artists and social activists from 16 countries, led by Frei Betto, Ignacio Ramonet, Atilio Borón, Salim Lamrani, Cecilia Todd, María Eugenia Mudrovcic, Fernando Buen Abad and Héctor Díaz Polanco, among others. others of great prestige and proven commitment to the Cuban Revolution.

(With information from ACN)

Lezama Lima readjusts his tie knot for the last time, picks up the folder of documents resting on the living room mantle, and goes out onto Trocadero Street, where a ‘57 Chevrolet awaits. Before getting into the vehicle, he responds to the greetings of two militia members with their M-52 Czech rifles conversing on the sidewalk, and buys a newspaper from a street vendor passing by.

It is August 22, 1961, and I imagine him heading to the Chaplin Theater, in Miramar, where Fidel had promised to close the first Congress of Cuban Writers and Artists. Along the way, he reads the newspaper and a discordant editorial catches his attention. The Congress is big news, with two days of sessions in the Habana Libre’s Ambassadors Hall, led by Nicolás Guillén. But along with a short report of a cultural nature are other articles paradoxically expressing barbarities.

This was not strange, however, in these times. When recalling a cultural event of the era, images come to mind of long elegant halls, with opulent chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and walls covered with oil paintings, but with more persons in attendance wearing militia uniforms than coats and ties.

In the upper left hand corner of the newspaper’s front page is a report on the capture of another terrorist among those who, two months earlier, had set the Riesgo movie theater on fire, in Pinar del Rio, leaving 26 children burned. Below appears a chronicle relating what had occurred the previous Friday in Camagüey, when a band of terrorists shot up a social club, injuring eight civilians. One headline in bold lettering announces: Bomb Factory Discovered. And another: Compensation demanded from U.S. for mercenaries captured in Playa Girón.

At the stoplight on Linea, they see a caravan of trucks carrying armed militia members, heading to operations in the Escambray Mountains, the driver comments, saying that there is talk of thousands of counterrevolutionaries killing campesinos and young teachers. Lezama glances at him and murmurs a prayer to the angel of death. Tell me about it, the driver says, and suddenly animated, adds: Just two weeks ago, I was real close to the fight, coming out of the Fin de Siglo store when the bomb exploded inside. I saw them bringing out a man covered in blood.

But we are no longer surprised by the perseverance of those who continue to work for culture faced with those intent upon destroying it. I remember how they bombed the Riviera Hotel dance hall in Havana, and set the Negrete movie theater on fire, during that era. But institutions and schools continued to inaugurated across the entire country.

Lezama instinctively touches the folder at his side They say Prime Minister Fidel Castro is a hurricane of questions, but he has all the data about the editorial plan in the folder. Since last year, he has held the position of director in the National Culture Council’s department of literature and publishing, and there is nothing the Comandante could ask that he would not be able to answer.

He remembers an anecdote from the times when Fidel decided to establish the national printing facility, in 1959. A doubtful friend commented that what he expected to see published were manuals for the militia and pamphlets of ideological propaganda. Certainly, this would have been natural, given the circumstances. Since the triumph of the Revolution, not a single day had passed without a terrorist attack, including dozens of phosphorous bombings.

Nonetheless, the facility was not created for indoctrination or military instruction. The first book published was a massive run of Don Quixote, followed by works from Rubén Darío, César Vallejo, Pablo Neruda, and Nicolás Guillén. Lezama himself had the responsibility of selecting the contents and editing a three-volume Anthology of Cuban Poetry.

Poetry, not bombs, they said, although the publishing house also printed thousands of guides for the Literacy Campaign underway. No doubt, this effort was the largest cultural event to ever take place in the country, with 250,000 instructors teaching more than 700,000 persons to read and write.

Lezama recalls how difficult it was to publish and distribute books before the triumph of the Revolution. Eliseo Diego once approached him, very depressed, saying he didn’t know what to do with the 300 copies he had of his grand book of poetry En la calzada de Jesús del Monte. Lezama, who already had plenty of experience with literary bankruptcy, advised him, “Divide the copies in three groups: the first will be for friends and poets you admire. The second, for those you would like to interest; and the third, for those who do not interest you, but whose knowledge of the publishing of your new title is convenient.”

But the intense cultural work of the nascent Revolution did not only include the literary world. In these early days, a variety of institutions were strengthened, including the National Ballet of Cuba, the National Library, and the San Alejandro Institute of Visual Arts. Construction resumed on the National Theater and founded were the Symphony Orchestra, the Casa de las Américas, the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Arts and Industry (Icaic), as well as the Ethnology and Folklore Institute among others.

As a product of the intense debates Fidel held with distinguished artists and writers June 16, 23 and 30, of 1961, at the National Library, the proposal to found UNEAC emerged.

The car takes First Avenue toward the Chaplin Theater. In the lobby, several friends approach to congratulate Lezama. The leadership of Uneac is already a known secret – a secret of Polichinela, he would say – with Nicolás Guillén as president and Alejo Carpentier as first vice president, while he would assume one of the vice presidencies.

Fidel’s speech was exhilarating, and new endeavors were announced. Lezama seemed to be dreaming aloud, with thousands of art instructors creating theater groups, choirs, and dance choreographies in the countryside and small towns across the country. “This is a utopia,” someone behind him whispered, but he did not turn to see who it was. Very slowly, he stood, perhaps recalling something he had written that morning: “When you are standing, it seems you are growing, but inside, toward a dream. No one can be aware of this growth.”

(Source: Granma)

He added, immediately thereafter, “This means that within the Revolution, everything; against the Revolution, nothing!” Speeches should not be interpreted independently of the historical moment and the context in which they were delivered, but in these words Fidel addresses a contradiction that continues to be relevant, perhaps one of the most significant faced within a revolutionary process: the complex relationship between the individual and the collective.

Liberalism takes this contradiction to an agonizing level. Stated individual freedoms are a formality and end up being effective only for those who possess economic power, or when they do not directly affect the interests of these powerful groups. The history of social movements on a global scale has shown that individual freedoms, for the historically dispossessed, must be a collective conquest under certain conditions, and that their continuity must be defended over time, also collectively. Where collectives have been splintered, captured, or corrupted, individual rights and freedoms have been brutally swept away, with those affected lacking the resources to defend them. This is what we have seen occurring with the increasingly precarious nature of work over the last decades on a global scale. Today it is difficult to find a job with a minimum of protected labor rights, historical conquests of the working class which are now endangered.

***

The imperative of valuing the collective leads us to reconsider the individual, which cannot be annulled. The collective must be a vehicle for individual interests to stand a chance of being honored. Thus, personal dilemmas should be placed in the light of a collective context, which is not always simple. Julio Cortázar did this with exemplary acuity when, in March of 1980, at the Casa de las Américas, he said: “I have not hidden from anyone my conviction that at this point the critical horizon should open up more in Cuba, that the media – as some leaders have already pointed out – have not reached the level they could have, and that there are a number of things that could be done and are not being done or could be done better. But I make these criticisms always starting from a sentiment I call the joy of confidence, I make them as I see and live the Cuban Revolution’s great number of positive accomplishments in all fields and, above all, I make them without stupidly anchoring myself in what I am, That is, a writer, not confining myself to the exclusive criteria of the intellectual at a time when an entire people, against all odds, despite errors and stumbling blocks, is today a people infinitely more worthy of its Cuban identity than in the times when it was vegetating under alienating, exploitative regimes.”

The people of whom Cortázar spoke are precisely the collective subject of the historical process that is the Cuban Revolution. And when I say people, I am not referring to a homogeneous bloc. To think that way is untenable. The people of Cuba are heterogeneous in their living conditions and in their desires, denying this today makes no sense. What then defines this collective subject that makes itself felt when it marches through the plaza, approves a Constitution or ignores the “opposition” in Cuba? Perhaps a structural consensus continues to exist on the basis of fundamental principles that have been constructed alongside a sense of Cuban national identity (hence its power), through a complex historical process of struggle, resistance, demands, great sacrifice and devotion as the cost of a desire: the sovereignty of the Cuban nation and the defense of a system that is considered more just insofar as it guarantees, in a universal and inalienable manner, a set of collective rights, that is, to all men and women equally, with an effectiveness in this sense has made its presence known these days, saving lives with names and surnames, beyond statistics.

This is the biggest obstacle facing the “opposition” in Cuba. No social mobilization can be triggered by an “opposition” manufactured in Washington, with interests far removed from the collective consensus of Cubans, given that they are connected to the economic interests of power groups with which the people do not identify. In short, there has been no Cuban “opposition” that was not a made-in-USA product. This is not a paranoid view of the enemy; it is a reality recognized within the U.S. itself. The private press and other political actors in Cuba are financed by some of the most discredited and malicious organizations of the international right, and we must be prepared for a context in which this reality becomes increasingly present.

With the rise of social media, the Cuban “opposition” is diversifying its face and we are no longer confronting only groups in Miami that continue to spin a narrative of hate, but also new actors and platforms within the island itself, although trained and supported from abroad. They constantly manipulate symbols that have value within the collective imagination and capitalize on existing social problems. Of course, I am not referring to those who – outside of state media but without foreign financing – are creating valuable materials on the internet reflecting a critical perspective on current Cuban society, which enrich the debate on our reality from Marxist and de-colonialized positions, which contribute and in no way detract.

In the recent period, perception of the right to participate in public decision-making has increased in Cuba: Cuban men and women debate all areas of national life, be it a local architectural decision or one involving the borders of an entire country. There are voices that take advantage of this context to manipulate public opinion in the media regarding state administration and institutional work. We cannot ignore this reality, but it is also true that these manipulators do not have the upper hand. Despite the haters, there is a popular sense of defending the common good. The need for government efforts at the local level to develop mechanisms for greater and more profound popular participation is key. Making a regular practice of consultation, transparency, and the provision of timely information on decision-making processes is imposed as a work philosophy absolutely essential to the development of socialism.

***

In March of 2020, a national program to combat racism and racial discrimination was announced. The adoption of a Decree-Law on animal protection was approved this year. And it will be necessary to continue creating working platforms to analyze, debate and develop alternatives to resolve problems present in Cuban society today, which will allow for the deepening of the democratic, just character of Cuba’s political system. This cannot be done outside of context of socialism. Capitalism today is exacerbating all of these problems throughout the world. The transition to socialism does not solve these problems naturally or spontaneously, as something inherent, but it does create better conditions for these problems to be analyzed, debated and worked on. Inclusive, transparent platforms for building dialogue and consensus are needed. When the causes are just, they will find a place within the Revolution and its institutions. Perhaps that is what Fidel meant when he said that there was room for everyone in the Revolution.

***

No one receiving payment from abroad to change Cuba has ever presented a decent proposal to our people. Fighting tooth and nail for Cuban men and women to preserve our lives under adverse conditions, since Cuba is a poor country, without sacrificing our sovereignty in the least, is a proposal worthy of this people. Perhaps that is what Fidel meant when he said everything within the Revolution and nothing against it. Although there are many things, as Cortázar would say, and revolutionaries recognize, that should be done better for the collective good, so individuals have ever greater and fuller possibilities of being.

(Source: Granma)

With the presence of Adam Chávez, Venezuelan ambassador to Cuba; Omar González, president of the Cuban chapter of REDH; Alpidio Alonso, Minister of Culture; Abel Prieto, director of the Martí Program Office; and Pedro Calzadilla, general coordinator of the REDH – who presented the document – the Cuban chapter of the Network joined the international effort to denounce the U.S. blockade and brutal campaign against the homeland of Bolivar, adding its members’ signatures and voices.

“Throughout the country’s history, no Venezuelan government has sent its armed forces to attack anyone, except to free our brothers from the first colonialist invasion,” reads the document that makes explicit with solid arguments that Venezuela is not a threat to anyone, and has never intended to dominate or exploit any people.

The letter demands “an end to this brutal aggression against the homeland,” and that “existing mechanisms for the protection of the Venezuelan people be activated, to ensure that the full right of all its inhabitants to human development and life is guaranteed,” a position with which Cuban intellectuals concur.

Omar González reaffirmed, in the name of the Cuban chapter, their solidarity with Venezuela, for which Adam Chávez expressed gratitude, recalling the role of Fidel and Chávez in establishing the organization.

“Venezuela is today the front line against the fascist wave,” said Abel Prieto, who added that the Network has the urgent task of articulating the efforts for change of all honorable people around the world – who are the majority.

Alpidio Alonso stated that this call is the opportunity we have today to serve. “Every day we must ask ourselves what else we can do to serve Venezuela,” he said and recalled that what happens in that country is also our problem, since the fascist counteroffensive involves us all. “We are called upon to act. It is imperative that everyone knows the truth, so that good and love prevail,” he insisted.

In his heartfelt comments, Villegas conveyed greetings from President Nicolás Maduro to the signatories, while saluting President Miguel Díaz-Canel and the Party. Aware that intellectuals and artists are the vanguard of the people’s sensibility, he said, “There is nothing strange about them being the first to the line of combat, when they are summoned.”

“Only an insensitive person could be indifferent to what the planet is experiencing. The Venezuelan cause, like that of revolutionary Cuba, is the cause of humanity,” he concluded.

(Granma)

On August 6, 1949, just four years after the nuclear genocide in Hiroshima, prominent figures in Cuban culture, including Fernando Ortiz and Juan Marinello from Havana, and Nicolás Guillén, then traveling through Europe, took the lead in developing civic consciousness in favor of world peace and social justice. Now, two decades into the 21st century, the imperative is to unite all possible forces to curb the arms race, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the deterioration of social conditions, and environmental degradation on a planetary scale.

Upholding these causes, a colloquium to commemorate the birth of the Cuban Movement for Peace and Sovereignty of the Peoples took place in the headquarters of the Union of Cuban Writers and Artists, under the auspices of these two organizations and the Nicolás Guillén Foundation.Miguel Barnet, honorary UNEAC president; Nicolás Hernández Guillén, president of the Foundation, essayist Caridad Massón, and Alina Fernández Arias, from the Movement’s executive, addressed various historical aspects of the evolution of struggles for world peace and their particular reflection in Cuba, the commitment of artists and intellectuals, and the relevance of providing messages with a deeply humanistic content, along with the defense of popular struggles for national liberation and against neoliberal attacks on the continent.

Participants thanked the contributions to the colloquium of friends from the Valencian community. Javier Parra, graphic artist and general secretary of the country’s Communist Party, donated to the Cuban Movement for Peace and Sovereignty of the Peoples a series of images he created of Cuban revolutionary heroes, and recalled his countryman Josep Renau (1907-1982), a prominent artist, anti-fascist fighter committed to responsible and tenacious pacifism.

Some lines by Guillén, written in 1978, reflect the spirit of the event: The flowers burn, the laughter flies / the chorus spreads its expanding voice / from beach to beach, from sky to sky / from sea to sea … / Death hides its frightful face / no bomb flash, no salty tears / only songs of life and struggle / only songs of love and peace.

(Granma)