DistantNews
Support us
Cuba marks Fidel Castro's centenary with tribute attended by Raúl Castro
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Culture & Society

Cuba marks Fidel Castro's centenary with tribute attended by Raúl Castro

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Context piece
  • Cuba commemorated the 100th anniversary of Fidel Castro's birth with a political-cultural event in Havana, attended by Raúl Castro and other high-ranking officials.
  • President Miguel Díaz-Canel praised Castro's legacy and linked it to ongoing economic and social reforms amid a severe crisis.
  • The commemoration also included international tributes, such as a gathering in Moscow, and highlighted Castro's enduring influence.

Cuba marked the centenary of Fidel Castro's birth on Thursday with a political-cultural spectacle at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana. The event saw the presence of Raúl Castro, the former president and current "leader at the forefront of the Cuban revolution," alongside current President Miguel Díaz-Canel and other senior figures of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and the government.

lives forever as a warrior, rebel, and just (...) of Humanity

— Miguel Díaz-CanelPresident Díaz-Canel's description of Fidel Castro during the centenary commemoration.

Family members, including Fidel Castro's widow Dalia Soto del Valle, also attended the tribute. The performance, led by the children's theater company La Colmenita, traced Castro's life through images and songs. President Díaz-Canel delivered remarks, emphasizing Castro's lifelong dedication to "fighting for all just causes." He described Castro as an eternal "warrior, rebel, and just figure" whose legacy of "independence, revolution, values, and achievements that socialism represents" guides Cuba.

fascist regime

— Miguel Díaz-CanelPresident Díaz-Canel's characterization of the U.S. government during his speech.

Díaz-Canel connected Castro's legacy to the nation's current path, referencing a recent package of 176 reforms aimed at liberalizing and decentralizing the economy. Cuba has been grappling with a profound economic crisis for over six years. The president also renewed criticism of the U.S. government, labeling it a "fascist regime" intensifying a "brutal and immoral imperial blockade" intended to "exterminate our people."

brutal and immoral imperial blockade

— Miguel Díaz-CanelPresident Díaz-Canel's description of the U.S. sanctions against Cuba.

The event in Havana served as the closing ceremony for the First International Colloquium "Fidel: Legacy and Future," which convened over 1,000 national and international delegates. Tributes to Castro's memory also extended beyond Cuba, with hundreds gathering in Moscow before his statue. Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, hailed Castro as a "model and example to follow." Earlier in the week, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent messages to Raúl Castro and Díaz-Canel, calling Fidel Castro a "symbol of freedom, justice, and patriotism."

Fidel Castro is a model and an example to follow (...) in these difficult times, to achieve victory over the most evil forces in history.

— Yevgueni ZiugánovLeader of the Communist Party of Russia's tribute to Fidel Castro in Moscow.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog