World comes to Cuba to fete Fidel’s 80th

The Cuban people and guests from all over the world gathered for a belated celebration of President Fidel Castro’s 80th birthday in early December. The events were sponsored by the Guayasamín Foundation, named for the famous Ecuadorian artist, Oswaldo Guayasamín, who devoted much of his work to celebrating the Cuban Revolution and to depicting President Castro in particular.

The events began with a conference attended by international delegates as well as Cuban leaders. Participants spoke about the importance of President Castro’s life and leadership to the Cuban Revolution in particular. Also, many guests spoke about his contribution to the worldwide struggle for justice—and for socialism in particular—since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution.

In his closing remarks to the conference, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque spoke about how President Castro embodies the vision of the revolution he is fighting for in both his public and personal personas. Pérez Roque, who once served as Fidel Castro’s personal assistant, said that President Castro believes very strongly in leading by personal example. President Castro’s tirelessness, his optimism, and his humanity are examples of the qualities and the ideas the president values, from which all of those who fight for social justice can learn, according to Pérez Roque.

The celebration included several cultural events. There was an art exhibit featuring the work of Oswaldo Guayasamín. In addition, the event featured a music concert held at the Anti-Imperialist Plaza in Havana and featured performers from all Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa.

Some of the most well-known performers were Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés of Cuba and Miriam Makeba of South Africa. The concert was free and open to the public. It was attended by thousands of young Cubans in addition to the international guests.

Heads of state from several Latin American and Caribbean countries came to pay homage to President Castro. Among them were President Evo Morales of Bolivia, René Préval of Haiti, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, President-elect Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and a representative of the government of Venezuela.

All of these leaders thanked President Castro and the Cuban people for their generosity in providing unconditional material aid, mostly in the form of thousands of Cuban doctors, to the poor all over Latin America and the Caribbean.

Some, like Evo Morales, thanked President Castro for his political leadership. President Morales spoke about the exciting political developments in Latin America right now in terms of the re-emergence of the left. He spoke of President Castro and the Cuban Revolution as positive examples for the growing people’s movement in the region.

The birthday celebration ended with a military parade through the Plaza de la Revolución in Havana. Raúl Castro, Cuba’s military leader and acting-president, spoke at the event. After a long procession of Cuban soldiers, tanks, planes and other vehicles, the parade ended with what was announced as “Cuba’s most important weapon: its people.”

Hundreds of thousands of residents from Havana paraded through the square. They were carrying homemade signs with greetings for Fidel as well as thousands of Cuban flags. Their mood was jubilant and celebratory.

Missing from the birthday events was President Fidel Castro himself, a fact that was widely emphasized in the U.S. media. The president was advised by his doctors that attending the celebrations might impede his recovery. However, President Castro sent a written statement to all of the guests, thanking them for their generosity and apologizing for not being able to thank every guest in person.

Despite the continued concern over President Castro’s health, the mood of the participants in the events was quite optimistic. The main themes at every stage of the celebration were the positive prospects for the continued success of the Cuban Revolution and for its growing influence in Latin America.