Without a critical and decolonizing sense, there will be no emancipating culture
Photo: Dunia Álvarez
Having established the consensus that the first thing to save is culture, the question arises: how to do it? Based on that question and the commitment of a sector that -as stated by the member of the Political Bureau and Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz- has been “a pillar of the cultural and political resistance of the Revolution,” the balance of the work carried out by the Ministry of Culture in the year 2024 was articulated.
Presided over by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, the analysis insisted on priorities such as stimulating artistic and literary creation with a decolonizing sense; ensuring the protection of heritage and the preservation of historical memory; as well as encouraging the participation of all segments of the population in cultural activities.
Also highlighted were the use of science, technology and innovation; the comprehensive training of artistic education students; the efficiency of economic, financial and administrative management; and the development of capacities to manage income.
The Minister of Culture, Alpidio Alonso Grau, addressed the need for the programming of artistic talent to respond to the country’s cultural policy, both at the national level and in each territory, and in state and private centers; and to rigorously ensure its quality.
He also said that, although progress has been made in greater spaces for dialogue with creators, it is necessary to deepen that exchange; and to unite them in a permanent vindication of Cuba in order to, besides facing cultural colonization, fight against fascism.
Taking cultural activities to the neighborhoods is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Culture. Photo: Juvenal Balán
In the balance, it was also assured that the institutional framework cannot turn its back to the artistic expressions that have emerged in conjunction with new technologies, but rather attend to them; and that the battle cannot be against a specific phenomenon, but rather against indecency, discrimination and vulgarity.
The community space as the epicenter of culture was strongly defended: bringing professional talent to the neighborhoods, and ensuring that all major events include activities in the communities, with the presence of teachers and students of artistic education, were among the keys shared.
The president of Casa de las Americas, Abel Prieto, explained that we are engaged in a battle of ideas and feelings and, therefore, it is unavoidable to create a critical climate against any concession to cultural colonialism. Fortunately, we have José Martí and Fidel, whose legacies will prevent us from falling into extreme nationalism, because Homeland is also humanity, he said.
At the meeting, which was also attended by the vice chief of the Ideological Department of the Central Committee of the Party, Marydé Fernández López, and Vice Prime Minister Inés María Chapman Waugh, Marrero Cruz recognized the efforts of writers, artists and workers in the sector to preserve the identity and strengthen social cohesion, as well as to put culture on high, keeping it alive and developing; and emphasized aspects such as legal and financial protection to artists, vigilance in the care of heritage, and support for the teaching of history.
We believe with Fidel, that “without a revolutionary press, there can be no Revolution,” said the President of the nation, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez
Photo: Granma
To all Cuban press workers and particularly to the young people who are making their debut in the profession:
As we celebrate this March 14, Cuban Press Day, we are motivated, first of all, by the duty and emotion of commemorating the birth of the newspaper Patria, founded by José Martí on this day in 1892, “to gather and to love, and to live in the passion of truth”.
I do not believe that more beautiful and accurate words have been said, before or since, to describe the mission of journalism needed by the Revolution in its tireless search for a more just and solidary society. Or as Martí invoked it: “With all and for the good of all”.
That is why we feel the constant need to return to the reasons of our Homeland, every time a day of celebration summons us to the essential reflection on the role of the press in our society.
Because, although it is a day of just tribute to those who, with their dedication and commitment, assume the daily challenge of recording what we are and what we do, in the midst of the fiercest imperial siege, it is also our duty to point out and, if possible, rectify everything that hinders and weakens the communication between the people and those who today assume the responsibility of representing them from the most dissimilar tasks in the Party, the Government, the National Assembly and the political and mass organizations.
Although we are a small archipelago navigating in a world mostly characterized by the use and abuse of information as a weapon of power controlled by a few media conglomerates, which are part of or associated with national and global oligarchies, we are a society free from the subjugation imposed by modern merchants on the exercise of journalism.
But, the Cuban press, with all that has advanced and grown in recent years, continues to suffer the burden of obsolete practices in language, forms and times, as a logical consequence of years of exercise in the trenches.
And because the hour of danger has not passed, these burdens still weigh heavily. But for that same reason, today our press is aggressively challenged by technology and the wonderful originality of our people, to transform itself, creatively, viralizing the “passion for truth” against the obscene invasion of lies and manipulations that assault audiences from digital networks driven by hate.
We have recently called for a new “Vindication of Cuba”, like that exemplary fight by José Martí, from an American newspaper, against those who tried to denigrate our people. It is not about returning hatred to hatred, as the Apostle did not do in his time. It is about opposing the truth of a nation engaged in the search for solutions to imperial harassment, with exemplary dignity that includes the essential self-criticism.
This does not deny, nor can it deny, the irrefutable fact that the Cuban press, the authentic Cuban press, has been and continues to be a bastion of resistance. And that Cuban journalism, over and above nonconformities and demands, has known how to act with the ethics and passion of genuine revolutionaries, deeply committed to the people from which it was born, to the Revolution that formed it and to the values that define us as a nation.
We are all aware of how much the so-called social networks and new technologies have transformed the media landscape, by dint of disinformation, false news and manipulation of public opinion. In this context, Cuban journalism has the responsibility to surpass itself, as a beacon of truthfulness and ethics. We must use digital tools not to follow trends, but to educate, to form conscience and to defend the truth.
In Cuba, the revolutionary press is truly independent, because it is not at the service of capital or foreign interests. It is at the service of the people and that service must be assumed as an obligation to reflect more and better, more integrally, the concerns, achievements and challenges of our society.
At the same time, our press has the freedom that in other places is punished or marginalized, to give voice to the solidarity with the peoples fighting for their liberation, such as the Palestinian people, victims of a war of persecution and extermination and of a media war that seeks to justify the unjustifiable. From Cuba, we will continue to denounce these injustices and amplify the voices of those who fight for peace and the dignity of all peoples, and we count on the Cuban press to be at the forefront.
Today, the Cuban press is in young hands. It is up to you to carry forward the legacy of Martí, of Fidel, of so many journalists who did their work and gave their lives for the Revolution. That legacy is fundamental in the formation of the new generations, not only in the techniques of journalism, but also in the values of ethics, honesty and social commitment, as protagonists of an innovative, critical and revolutionary press.
We believe with Fidel, that “without a revolutionary press, there is no Revolution possible” and that the press must be a bulwark in the defense of truth and justice, and an instrument for the mobilization and awareness of our people. Raúl also reminded us that the press should be a space for debate and reflection, at the service of the people.
In defense of these ideas, we have stressed the need to modernize and transform our political, public and press communication system, urging them to be innovative and to make the most of new technologies. The Social Communication Law, which went into effect in October 2024, is a vital component in the political, economic, social and cultural advancement of our nation.
We are convinced that political and digital communication can and must be an accelerating tool for the construction of a more just and united world. We pledge to continue working together, to strengthen our networks and to carry forward the principles and values we have shared.
Comrades,
On this Press Day, we reaffirm our commitment to truth, justice and the Revolution. The Cuban press is not a business; it is a service. It is not an instrument of domination; it is a tool for liberation.
Let us remain faithful to the legacy of Martí, who said: “The press is not kindly approval or insulting anger; it is proposition, study, examination and advice”.
May our press continue to be a light full of truth in the darkness of ideas of the times the world is living in. May it continue to be, as it has always been, an instrument at the service of the homeland, of the people, of Humanity.
Long live the Cuban press!
Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez
First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba
President of the Republic of Cuba
In Matanzas, work is being done with creativity and self-awareness
Díaz-Canel and Morales Ojeda visited the municipalities of Martí and Matanzas this Wednesday as part of their tour of the country
There is a lot of heroism in the Cuban people -Díaz-Canel stressed-; that is why I am convinced that we can get out of this situation. Photo: Estudios Revolución
In Matanzas they are working with creativity and with their own awareness; there is here a peculiar way in the work of the Party and the Government, highlighted the First Secretary of the Central Committee and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, at the end of his visit to the municipalities of Martí and Matanzas on Wednesday.
With the two of this day, nine municipalities have been visited in the province of Matanzas, and only four remain (the Zapata Swamp, Limonar, Los Arabos and Perico) to experience this style of work that goes to the core to learn about good and bad experiences, talk to workers’ collectives and the people, seek solutions and help the territories.
The president spoke about these concepts to the inhabitants of Martí, who were waiting for him after one o’clock in the afternoon, on the main street of the town, under the strong Cuban midday sun. There, microphone in hand and in the middle of the crowd, he explained that by April the Party leadership should have visited all the municipalities of the Island, and when that happens, the visits will begin again “that allow us to help, to know experiences, and to socialize them”.
Díaz-Canel highlighted how, in the midst of great difficulties, there are groups of workers and people who find solutions and are an inspiration for others. There is a lot of heroism in the Cuban people -he stressed-; that is why I am convinced that we can get out of this situation, there is a lot of potential that we must help to channel.
The Head of State referred to hard dissatisfactions with the very long blackouts, the high prices of products, transportation, water supply, the deterioration of roads, among others; mostly as a result of the unprecedented tightening of the blockade.
But we are not standing idle, he said to the residents of Martí, to whom he explained in detail the millionaire investment underway throughout the country for the installation of solar parks that will generate more than one thousand megawatts this year. Seven of them will be ready this month.
At the same time, he assured, social programs have not been stopped. And an example of this, he said, is this maternity home that we have come to visit, inaugurated last January.
Díaz-Canel toured the beautiful institution, where eight pregnant women from the district are cared for. He talked with the girls, and learned details of the medical care, and how cooperatives and other entities of the territory are in charge of feeding the pregnant women.
Infant and maternal mortality in Martí remains at zero.
Accompanied by the member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee, Roberto Morales Ojeda, and by the highest authorities of the Party and the Government in the province and in the municipality, the Head of State then visited the Frank País grassroots business unit, dedicated to raising pigs and other small livestock.
After a process of recovery, the entity has been improving economic indicators that have allowed it to obtain profits and improve the income of its workers.
From some 300 breeders last year, they aspire to close this year with some 500. The President praised the use of pig manure to generate biogas.
TO GENERATE CLEAN ENERGY
A few meters from there, it is being built one of the four photovoltaic solar parks that will come into operation this year in Matanzas, and that will contribute, as a whole, a little more than 80 megawatts.
Díaz-Canel talked with its directors about the characteristics of this site in Martí, which began its civil construction in December and is about 40 days behind schedule.
According to them, this should be corrected and the delivery date (May) should be met, since all the resources are already in place, and some 15 brigades are working on the assembly of the tables. The critical route is in “trenching about 15 kilometers of cable”, they said.
IN THE CAPITAL CITY
Already in Matanzas, and the afternoon was falling over its beautiful bay, the Cuban President visited the 78th circumscription of the Peñas Altas popular council, which under the leadership of the delegate Randy Perdomo, has become a model of community work in the country.
Sharing his impressions about this place, in the final meeting of the day, the president said that “the concepts of popular power proposed by Fidel are demonstrated there”. There is another type of synergy, he said, people feel committed, with self-esteem for the place where they live, they make proposals, participate, and that generates unity.
With words of praise he also referred to the Faustino Pérez Hospital, directed by the young doctor Taymí Martínez. The Head of State was also there, and highlighted the order, the beauty, the good attention to the patients and the workers. He considered that there are few hospitals like this one in the country.
These two places, he commented in the concluding meeting of the day, are national referents in the field of health and community work. This does not mean, he clarified, that they do not have problems, but the level of response is different.
“These are the paths that need to be multiplied,” he said.
Professionalism, dedication and high political values
Raúl congratulated the members of the Prevention Brigade
Photo: José Manuel Correa
“As we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the creation of the Prevention Brigade, I extend my warmest congratulations to its founders and to all the members,” wrote Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, in a letter of greeting to the members of the Brigade.
“The professionalism, dedication and high political and ideological values demonstrated by you have contributed to the security and protection of our glorious Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) and the defense of the achievements of the Cuban Revolution,” he added.
Let this anniversary serve to continue perfecting the work and advance towards higher goals, he urged.
The letter was read at the political act and military ceremony on the occasion of the commemorative day, in which the member of the Political Bureau and Minister of the FAR, Army Corps General Álvaro López Miera, presented a diploma signed by the General of the Army, in recognition of the work of the troops.
First Colonel Daniel Sagó Rivera, head of the Brigade, highlighted the contribution in rescue work, in the recovery of areas affected by weather events, in addition to the work deployed during the covid-19 pandemic.
He also underlined the support to the General Directorate of the National Revolutionary Police, focused on the reduction of criminal acts and the preservation of public peace.
Sagó Rivera qualified, as the most difficult and honorable task carried out by the Prevention Brigade, the escort of the remains of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, at the end of 2016, from Havana to the Santa Ifigenia cemetery, in Santiago de Cuba.
He called for “this new anniversary to be the starting point to continue perfecting the work in all orders, with the commitment to continue being examples of resistance and unity, men faithful to the cause of the Commander-in-Chief and Army General.”
