Mass Tribute to Fidel Castro at Havana’s University

A political-cultural evening was held on Monday night on the legendary steps of the University of Havana on the third anniversary of the physical disappearance of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, attended by the Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

The event, with its main theme Fidel Antimperialista, began with the display of an audiovisual material that gathers the formation of thought and action in the leader of the Cuban Revolution.

Personalities such as Revolution Commander Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, Fidel’s companion in struggles for more than 60 years, and the outstanding Brazilian intellectual and theologian Frei Betto, a great friend of the revolutionary leader and author of the book Fidel and Religion, attended this evening, with the presence of a large representation of young people and adolescents and representatives of all walks of life.

Today Fidel is more necessary than ever to face the onslaught of the empire, which is tightening its blockade of the island, said Susely Morfa Gonzalez, first secretary of the Youth Communist League (UJC), in the main speech at the tribute.

We,” she said, “with the same strength  that we learned from the Commander, condemn the aggressions against our doctors and the campaign that tries to defame the human labor of these professionals.

Morfa González explained that in Cuba no threat will be able to stop the effort to continue thinking as a country, because all the people are convinced that the Revolution must be cared for and preserved.

She said that the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution can have the deep conviction that his youth and his people will not fail him and that his work is in good hands.

During the evening, the public enjoyed a documentary that gathers anecdotes of events such as the explosion of the ship La Coubre, the October Crisis, the attack on the Cubana de Aviación aircraft in Barbados and a speech delivered by the Commander in Chief at the United Nations.

Another video reflected the facts related to Elián’s claim, Fidel’s presence in the open tribunes, the return of the Five Heroes and the fight against the blockade.

The steps of the University of Havana welcomed members of the Political Bureau and Secretariat of the Communist Party of Cuba, the government, the Youth Communist League and other political and mass organizations.

The militancy and beauty of the art was also the protagonist in the tribute, from the unmistakable notes of El Mambí, by Luis Casas Romero, to the song El elegido, by Silvio Rodríguez, interpreted by Vocal Sampling, were appreciated during the presentations, in an evening where the Moncada Group, the National Folkloric Ensemble, and the Revolution dance company, among others, also offered their performances.