When the Union of Cuban Writers and Artists (Uneac) was founded on August 22, 1961, the true face of the socio-cultural changes that would completely transform the status quo suffered for generations of Cubans began to emerge.

These transformations were described by intellectuals as a true revolution within a revolution, and that Fidel had already announced, in his “Words to intellectuals,” in June of that same year – barely taking time to shake off the dust and shrapnel smoke of Playa Giron – when in the conclusions of that great meeting he stated: “Soon you are going to establish an artists’ association, you are going to attend a congress,” and at that very moment he called for an unprecedented offensive against the evils of pre-revolutionary society, which quashed the creative spirit of the people. “We are going to wage a war against ignorance. We are going to wage a battle against the lack of culture. We are going to unleash an irreconcilable campaign against the lack of culture and we are going to fight against it and we are going to display our weapons,” he said, pluralizing this call that the young revolution made to its honest creators, willing to sacrifice everything in favor of the education of the most humble.

This historic meeting, held at José Martí National Library, was the preamble to what was coming in the field of art and literature. While there, through open and productive dialogue, Cuba’s cultural policy was drafted, in the most remote corners of the island the colossal battle against illiteracy, backwardness and the myth of geographic fatalism was being waged. Thus, in the course of barely a year, the people discovered the magic of reading and, with it, the source of all beliefs, of all knowledge, that would save the Revolution for posterity.

And so powerful was the admiration of Cubans, shaped by the pleasure of serving and human ethics, when their aspirations – disregarded for centuries -, suddenly found a real place in the humanism of a revolution, achieved on the basis of ideas forged in truth and altruism. It was during these years, when aspirations exceeded the real resources available to achieve the goals of the young revolutionary government in the field of culture, that the film industry, the Ballet School, the National Art School, the Cuban Book Institute were born; publishing was nationalized; libraries, cultural centers and movie theaters were opened across the length and breadth of the archipelago; radio and television programming was strengthened in favor of entertainment and education of an increasingly inclusive society.

As never before, the children of workers and peasants had access to (re)creation. Art and literature were no longer the privilege of a few, but the right of the entire people. The Revolution was beginning to build a country with the support of its hard-working, educated and spiritually sensitive people.

During the 60th year of its existence, Uneac continues to dialogue not only with writers and artists who have established a position within the great centers of culture, but continues, as well, to decentralize important artistic and literary events and include in this open, revolutionary debate even the most modest in municipalities and communities, however distant they may seem geographically. This right to participate in the dialogue to which we have been summoned is key to continuing the construction of the country, alongside the Revolution.

Fidel concluded his remarks at the 1961 meeting with the statement: “Fear other, much harsher judges, fear the judges of posterity, fear the future generations!”

So let us continue our dialogue. I, too, with the intention Whitman gave the pronoun, have the floor in this incessant battle for truth.

(Taken from Granma)

Author: Raúl Castro Ruz | internet@granma.cu
august 23, 2016 09:08:31
Havana, August 22, 2016

“Year 58 of the Revolution”

Dear Barnet:

Dear compañeros of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba:
Please accept my congratulations on this 55th anniversary of UNEAC, which arose during a decisive stage of the Cuban Revolution and has been at the service of culture for more than five decades, considered by Fidel the “shield and sword of the nation.”

Amid the attention and resources that defending our country required at the time, we did not neglect the strategic tasks of education and culture. Indeed, in 1961 we carried out the Literacy Campaign, the most significant cultural event in our history. This was also the year when, shortly after the victory of Playa Girón, Fidel met with writers and artists and delivered that speech of such relevance known as “Words to Intellectuals.”

UNEAC then emerged, headed by the great poet Nicolás Guillén, which, in a unitary spirit, convened the artistic vanguard which joined in the building of Martí’s “trenches of ideas.”

Today we are threatened in the field of culture on two fronts: by subversive projects that aim to divide us and by the global wave of colonization. The UNEAC of today will continue to confront with courage, revolutionary commitment and intelligence, these complex challenges.

My congratulations extend on this date to the founders and to the various generations that have provided continuity to the work begun in August 1961.

A strong embrace,

Raúl Castro Ruz

Festivities commenced at the beginning of the year, and even though August 22, the date of the organization’s founding, was celebrated with a gala in the Grand Theater of Havana’s García Lorca Hall, activities are scheduled to continue through December, including a meeting of the National Council, UNEAC’s highest governing body, set to take place in September.

The gala was led by maestro Alberto Méndez who introduced participating artists – such as the National Ballet of Cuba, National Chio, music group Yoruba Andabo, Septeto Nacional, Lecuona Trio and soprano Milagros de los Ángeles – citing verses from Guillén’s extensive poetic works.

We must remember that Nicolás Guillén, a man of progressive, leftist ideas, established the bases and guiding principles of UNEAC, according to its current President and poet Miguel Barnet, speaking to the press at the organization’s Martínez Villena Hall, during which he recalled other key aspects related to the creation and significance of the institution.

Barnet noted that UNEAC “was founded during the First Writers and Artists Congress in 1961, immediately after Fidel made his speech which would later come to be known as “Words to the Intellectuals,” in the theater of the José Martí National Library.

“The three-week long meeting called by Fidel was transcendental,” he recalled, “and I had the privilege of being there at 21 years of age, and he (Fidel) was a lot younger.”

UNEAC headquarters on 17 and H streets in the Havana neighborhood of El Vedado. Photo: http://www.uneac.org.cu
On July 7, 2016, during an act marking 55 years since the leader of the Cuban Revolution’s famous speech, Barnet emphasized: “That day there existed all manner of tendencies, not just ideological but also aesthetic and Fidel knew how to speak about freedom of expression, he knew how to unite those intellectuals, all of whom were older than him.”

More recently, on August 17, he stated: “It was a turning point in my life, to see that figure, 34 years old, debating with experienced and talented intellectuals, an example of what a young person can do.”

UNEAC was Fidel Castro’s idea, he is the architect of Cuba’s cultural policy and its related strategies, highlighted Barnet, also the author of Biography of a Runaway Slave, the first of his testimonial novels.

“There existed nothing like it before the Revolution, only a Reporters’ Association, nothing like UNEAC, in fact the organization is sui generis, the only one of its kind in the world, unique in the way that it unites writers and artists from all expressions.”

Barnet also commented on the national character of UNEAC and its expansion with the arrival of well-prepared youth. “Numerically speaking we are more than 9,000 members, but we have also grown ideologically and in our social vocation, because I believe the greatest responsibility of this vanguard of Cuban intellectuality is to influence the community.”

In this sense he recalled the importance of the Community Cultural Commission because “the essence, the root of our identity lies in the community.”

He also highlighted the complexity of the organization which encapsulates all artistic disciplines, noting that “we are all temperamental, which makes it more interesting.”

The President of UNEAC reiterated that the institution enjoys complete autonomy, “just like its five associations (Writers, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Music, Film and Television and Radio) for their programs.”

Barnet also highlighted the importance of research and debates on domestic and contemporary social issues undertaken by other commissions, including Art, the Market and Cultural Industries; Culture, City and Architecture; Education and Society; Statutes and Regulations; José Antonio Aponte against Racial Discrimination/Racism; and Culture, Tourism and Public Spaces.

Each commission also hosts public events in the organization’s headquarters on 17and H streets, such as the “Caracol Competition,” or its associated monthly encounter, “Moviendo los caracoles,” sponsored by the Film, Radio and Television Association’s Reviews and Research department; “La Bella Cubana”to promote Cuban female musicians, or “Maka con Furé,” led by 2015 National Prize for Literature winner, Rogelio Martínez Furé.
In conclusion, Barnet, the poet, author and ethnologist, took a moment to mention that all the activities being organized by UNEAC in honor of its 55th anniversary are inspired by the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution’s 90th birthday, “which like an extraordinary twist of fate happens to coincide with our celebrations.”
Fifty-five years after its founding, UNEAC remains true to its legacy as an institution of the intellectual vanguard, while continuing to make and defend history.

(Granma)