Dili, September 19, 2026. At the headquarters of the Portuguese Cultural Center, located within the premises of its Embassy, Ambassador Duarte Bué Alves, accompanied by the general director of Pluralidad de Editores and Grupo Editorial de Porto, Hélder de Carvalho, offered a beautiful introduction to the event, which featured young Timorese students reading excerpts from the book Mauberíadas* by Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao.
In this literary context, the author explained that this work was conceived primarily during his years of imprisonment under Indonesian occupation, and that it highlights the national identity and the “Maubere” people (a term once used pejoratively to refer to the illiterate or rural classes), which is why it was adopted by the resistance front as a symbol of pride, patriotism, nationalism, and unity among all the Timorese people. He added that the poems reflect the experiences, pain, hope, and perseverance of the underground resistance against the Indonesian occupation, serving both as a historical chronicle and as an emotional manifesto for their cause of independence.
Members of the diplomatic corps were invited to the event; representing the Cuban side was Ambassador Alina Aldama.
Cuban Embassy in Timor Leste.
