Cubans prepare to celebrate May Day

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, Apr 29 (Prensa Latina) Cubans are arranging the final details for the Workers’ Day parade on May Day, which annually brings together thousands of nationals and foreigners in this capital.

This year, the parade’s central venue will be the José Martí Anti-imperialist Tribune, where nearly 200,000 people from five Havana municipalities will gather.

This Sunday, a few hours before the May Day celebration, dozens of Havana residents carried out volunteer work to decorate the Tribune, the Government of Havana informed on the X platform.

The Provincial Commission for Road Safety in the capital announced organizational measures to ensure mobility during the proletarian event.

The principal squares in the rest of the country’s provinces are also preparing to receive the crowd of Cubans who will celebrate the 65th anniversary of the first workers’ parade held in this nation after the triumph of the Revolution in January 1959.

According to Cuban Workers Confederation (CTC)’s General Secretary Ulises Guilarte, the Cubans will demand on May Day the end to the US economic, financial, and commercial blockade against Cuba and its removal from Washington’s arbitrary list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT).

As every year, the May Day solidarity brigade will join the celebration, this time with its more than 250 members from all continents.

jrr/iff/npg/mks

Posted in Cultural, The Blockade? | Leave a comment

Cuban National Ballet celebrates International Dance Day in Spain

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Anthony Brenner

Madrid, Apr 29 (Prensa Latina) An intense tour through Spain, with future performances in Portugal, stands out on Monday in the National Ballet of Cuba (BNC), which celebrates International Dance Day.

In a statement sent to Prensa Latina, BNC first dancer and director Viengsay Valdés pointed out that the date is significant for all actors and admirers of this discipline.

Established in 1982 by the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) in honor of French dancer Jean-Georges Noverre, considered the creator of modern ballet, the day is also a reason for great performances in Spain, especially flamenco.

“The best way to celebrate this day is, precisely, doing what we love most: dance, and these days we are doing it for one of our most loyal audiences, the Spanish public,” Valdés said.

“These are days of many travels, classes, rehearsals, and performances, but also many satisfactions, because every success of the National Ballet of Cuba is a triumph of Cuban culture. And that makes us proud,” she stressed.

The BNC director took the opportunity to congratulate dancers, choreographers, teachers, rehearsers, technicians, musicians, directors, designers, students, make-up artists, researchers, and scholars.

In the next few days, the BNC will perform, in Terrasa, San Cugat, and Manresa, in Catalonia, and after moving to Lisbon, where it will perform twice: on May 10 and 11, before returning to Spain.

jrr/iff/jf/ft

Posted in Cultural | Leave a comment

Cuba calls to create strategies for South development

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, Apr 29 (Prensa Latina) The president of the National Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba (ANEC), Oscar Luis Hung, on Monday called to promote strategies with long-term perspectives to promote the development of the countries of the South.

At the opening session of the 50th Anniversary Congress on the New International Economic Order (NIEO), Hung noted the urgent need to move from theory to action, in order to ensure global survival.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla and former Colombian President Ernesto Samper, among other academic diplomats and political leaders, are participating in the event, which was inaugurated in the South Chamber of the National Capitol, in Havana.

Convened by the Progressive International and the ANEC, the Congress will be the second of its kind held in Havana, after the one held in January 2023 under the auspices of the Cuban Foreign Ministry (MINREX).

The meeting will close on Tuesday, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the approval by the United Nations General Assembly of the declaration and program of action on the establishment of the NIEO.

That event was a milestone in the fight by the countries of the South for international economic justice and for their development, MINREX recalled on its website.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the forum aims to promote dialogue on the problems that hinder development and world peace, as a consequence of an unbalanced international economic, political, scientific-technological and military order with hegemonic preponderances.

In its final declaration, the first Congress noted that the current vision of the NIEO can only be realized through collective action from the South and the establishment of new and alternative institutions to share critical technology, address the sovereign debt, boost development finance, and confront future pandemics together.

jg/mem/raj

Posted in Exchanges | Leave a comment

Cuba hosts debate on international economic order

Posted on April 29, 2024 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, Apr 29 (Prensa Latina) Worldwide Politicians, academics, and experts will share the Cuban venue to analyze global imbalances and the need for a New International Economic Order (NIEO).

Progressive International and the National Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba convened the Congress, the second of its kind in Havana after the one held in January 2023 sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba (MINREX).

The National Capitol of Cuba will make one of its chambers available for the event, which will take place from April 29th to 30th, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the approval by the United Nations General Assembly of the declaration and program of action on the establishment of the NIEO, which in turn constituted a milestone in the struggle of the countries of the South for international economic justice and their development, MINREX recalled on its website.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the forum will promote dialogue around the problems that hinder development and world peace, due to an unbalanced international economic, political, scientific-technological, and military order with hegemonic preponderances.

In its final declaration, the first Congress noted in January 2023 that the current vision of the NIEO can only be realized through collective action from the South and the formation of new and alternative institutions to share critical technology, address sovereign debt, boost financing development and face future pandemics together.

jrr/llp/jf/mjm

Posted in Exchanges | Leave a comment

Friendship campaign with Cuba collects 63,000 euros

Posted on April 29, 2024 by Anthony Brenner

Paris, Apr 28 (Prensa Latina) The Cuba Coopération France (CubaCoop) association highlighted that its solidarity campaign to support vulnerable people in the island reached 63,000 euros, and confirmed the shipment of a first container of powdered milk.

In a press release, the organization with almost 30 years of economic and social cooperation with Cuba specified that its immediate objective is to reach 76,000 euros collected, in order to send a second load of powdered milk, aimed at alleviating the impact of the U.S. blockade on the population, particularly children and the elderly.

We must keep up this effort, it stressed in a message that includes thanks to the people and entities that have made their contribution.

CubaCoop launched the initiative in March, inviting citizens, local authorities, public and private enterprises, foundations, trade unions, political forces and solidarity associations in France to participate in it.

For more than six decades Cuba has suffered the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States, a hostile policy with a severe impact on all sectors of society.

According to the association, its modest campaign to contribute to the feeding of children, women and the elderly will see its first result in May, when a container with 10 tons of powdered milk will be sent, which will arrive in Cuba in mid-June.

The Cuban Ambassador to France, Otto Vaillant, reiterated his gratitude for the solidarity initiative and took the opportunity to ratify the condemnation of the U.S. blockade, which he denounced for its extraterritorial nature, in open defiance of International Law and the United Nations Charter.

mh/arm/mem/wm

Posted in The Blockade? | Leave a comment

Cuban Parliament is willing to reinforce ties with South Africa

Posted on April 28, 2024 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, Apr 27 (Prensa Latina) The president of the National Assembly of People’s Power (parliament) of Cuba, Esteban Lazo, reiterated today the willingness to strengthen inter-parliamentary relations with South Africa, on the occasion of the commemoration of Independence Day of the African country.

On the social network X, Lazo, also president of the Council of State, sent congratulations to the South African people, Government, and Parliament on behalf of the island’s deputies and in his behalf.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry also sent in X congratulations to South Africa and ratified the will to continue strengthening the relations of friendship and brotherhood that unite both nations.

On April 27, 1994, South Africans voted in the first post-apartheid multiracial elections that gave victory to the African National Congress (ANC) which brought Nelson Mandela to power, the country’s first black president.

jrr/rgh/mks

Posted in Exchanges | Leave a comment

Cuban Ambassador talks with Sri Lankan delegation travelling to Cuba

Posted on April 27, 2024 by Anthony Brenner

Colombo, Apr 24 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Ambassador Andrés González met here today with the Sri Lankan delegation that will participate in Cuban activities for International Workers’ Day in the island.

According to a publication from the Cuban mission in Colombo, after some years of absence, a representation of the South Asian country will be part of the international delegations to the island for May Day.

G. V. Tilakasiri, deputy general secretary of the Democratic Left Front, heads the Sri Lankan youth group, the diplomatic source said.

The delegation also included the presence of the first secretary Maribel Duarte.

González thanked them for their participation in such an important date in Cuba and wished them a happy stay in the Homeland of Martí, Fidel and Raúl, the embassy noted.

The Cuban diplomat pointed out that the presence of the Sri Lankan delegation in the largest of the Antilles will allow for closer ties between the two countries.

This year, the May 1st. parade on the Caribbean island will take place at the José Martí Anti-imperialist Tribune in Havana.

The usual Solidarity Meeting with foreign friends will also be held in Cuba, the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples recently confirmed.

ef/ro/lrd

Posted in Exchanges | Leave a comment

Terrorists based in the US instigate violent actions against Cuba

Posted on April 27, 2024 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, Apr 25 (Prensa Latina) Cuban experts detailed the modus operandi of terrorists based in the United States, who use social networks to instigate crimes and commit acts of contempt for authorities.

The experts explained on national television how digital platforms are used to stimulate crowds to commit acts of subversion and other crimes, which are contemplated in the unconventional war manuals applied by the United States against Cuba.

The president of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme People’s Court, Otto Molina Rodríguez, explained that the purpose of those who commit crimes must always be taken into account to evaluate the severity. He also commented that on social networks there are calls to alter public order, to attack the police and to depose public institutions. In the latter case, the crime can be considered sedition, punishable by up to 30 years of deprivation of liberty, or life imprisonment if the crime is committed in exceptional situations, disasters or if it affects the security of the State.

Colonel Hugo Morales Karell, second chief of the General Directorate of the National Revolutionary Police, explained that the United States urges attacks against the authorities so that they apply an excessive response for them to capitalize on that reaction and publishing it on social networks, thus showing a failed government and a false police brutality.

Morales Karell pointed out that all these actions are contained in the unconventional war plans, with which “the enemy seeks to generate a pretext that may allow them to continue accusing Cuba.”

The Colonel stated that the Cuban police have training in self-defense and techniques that permit them to subdue a person without having to resort to lethal means for control, and stressed that police officers learn in academies rationality when dealing with individuals as a principle that must be followed.

jrr/llp/jha/mks

Posted in The Blockade? | Leave a comment

Valdivia will host a solidarity meeting with Cuba in Chile

Posted on April 27, 2024 by Anthony Brenner

Santiago de Chile, Apr 27 (Prensa Latina) The city of Valdivia, in southern Chile, will host the XXVII National Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba, to which delegates from all over the country are summoned, its organizers informed today.

Marisol Molina, of the José Martí group in the Los Ríos region, told Prensa Latina that the event will take place on November 22 and 23 and will be an opportunity to strengthen the historic ties of brotherhood between the two peoples.

She recalled that the first medical brigade sent by the nascent Cuban Revolution was the one that arrived precisely in Valdivia in 1960 to support the victims of the biggest earthquake in the history of this country, which measured 9.5 degrees on the Richter scale and left some two thousand deaths.

Not only do we have to give thanks for that, but also for the help provided by Cuba to many Chileans during the 1973 coup d’état against the Popular Unity government, she said. For Molina, the meeting will strengthen the Solidarity Movement in southern Chile. It will also be an opportunity for visitors to enjoy the culture and beautiful landscapes of a region with many rivers, explained Angelica Smith, a great friend of Cuba.

Marisol Molina informed that they are currently immersed in the whole organization of the event, as agreed in the 26th edition, held in 2022 in the city of La Serena.

jrr/oda/car

Posted in The Blockade? | Leave a comment

Humanist vocation of Cuban community project recognized

Posted on April 26, 2024 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, April 24 (Prensa Latina) Cuban and foreign intellectuals today recognized the humanist vocation of the Cabildo Quisicuaba Sociocultural Project, focused on social reintegration and community work.

During a visit to the headquarters of that association in the Los Sitios neighborhood, in the capital´s municipality of Centro Habana, the president of the cultural institution Casa de las Américas, Abel Prieto, highlighted the scope and work that Quisicuaba carries out in more than 30 social programs for vulnerable people, with emphasis on street dwellers.

Prieto enjoyed the pre-premiere of the work Comunidad, by the National Folklore Ensemble of Cuba, accompanied by the Casa de las Américas Prize Jury.

Likewise, the Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso recognized the deeply cultural work that Quisicuaba does, distinguished in 2022 with the National Community Culture Award.

Alonso highlighted the unity, cohesion and integration of efforts to carry out the revolutionary process, despite the United States blockade against Cuba.

For his part, the Guatemalan writer Arturo Arias stated that this is the most exciting visit to the Cuban capital since his arrival, “because of the human energy, the dynamics and the fact of sharing with people.”

ef/ro/evm

Posted in Cultural | Leave a comment