Day of the Cuban Culture Celebrated in Jamaica with Moving Political and Cultural Event JAMAICA, October 21, 2011.- Last Thursday, 20th October, the Embassy of Cuba in Kingston was the venue for the celebration in Jamaica of Cuba’s Day of Culture, a function attended by nearly 100 persons, on behalf of the Association of Cuban Residents, the Solidarity Movement and Cuba’s State Mission in this country, among other guests. Within the framework of the celebration of Cuba’s Day of Culture, the main speakers made reference to the origins of our National Anthem; to the impact of the U.S. fifty- year old blockade on the cultural sector of the island and recalled the contributions made by our courageous Five Heroes to the Cuban culture. In his speech, Ambassador Yuri Gala Lopez looked back at the history of the patriotic legacy of the Yara uprising to highlight the significance of Cuba’s Day of National Culture and the prime examples of its diverse artistic expressions. The Cuban diplomat also mentioned the impact of the genocidal U.S. blockade on the cultural sector and brought to mind that on October 25, the vote of the resolution against that U.S. unilateral coercive measure would take place at UNGA, for its twentieth consecutive year. Ambassador Gala López also made a call to redouble the solidarity actions to break the wall of silence which powerful circles attempt to build around the case of our Five Heroes. He alerted of the perils Rene Gonzalez is now facing after being forced to remain in U.S territory for three years under a supervised release regime, and demanded the immediate and full freedom of these five antiterrorist fighters. With shouts of “Long Live the Cuban Revolution”, “Long live Fidel and Raul” and “Long live our Five Heroes”, ended the political segment which left the floor open for the entertaining section which included Cuban dances and music and the performance of Jamaican musicians. Very touching, was the participation of Jamaican schoolchildren who sang in Spanish “Cuba que linda es Cuba”, a song that was taught and rehearsed by Cuban teachers giving their cooperation in this sister Caribbean nation. A member of the Association of Cuban Residents sang some traditional Cuban songs, while Cubans and Jamaicans took part in a dance competition. On the other hand, two children of Cuban officials and a member of the staff of the Embassy read poems of Avellaneda, Nicolas Guillen and other classical writers of the Cuban literature. This function was covered by Jamaica’s weekly newspaper The Sunday Herald. (Cubaminrex/Embacuba Jamaica)
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