Pretoria, 14 February 2025 - ‘Fidel and Mandela, there is no one like you! The cry resounded, on Thursday night, in the nave made of pure stone, just where a pavilion dedicated to the Republic of South Africa, Guest of Honour at the 33rd edition of the Havana International Book Fair, had been set up.
In the Morro Cabaña Historic-Military Park, this was the most emotional note of the opening day of the important cultural event, which brings together works and creators from different parts of the world. At the site dedicated to the African country, the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez and his partner Lis Cuesta Peraza, toured each space alluding to the South African identity; and they did so accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture of the Republic of South Africa, Mrs. Bertha Peace Mabe.
Together with other guests, leaders and personalities from the world of culture, the dignitary, his companion, and the South African friend stopped at a thought of Nelson Mandela, whose words were stamped, with colourful punctuation, in a place on the stand: ‘To be free - the exceptional fighter and great friend of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz had expressed - is not only to break the chains, but also to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others’.
After the tour of the venue, and when it seemed that the leader was leaving, a group of South Africans began to sing songs with the strength that only they know how to have. Between clapping their hands and stomping their feet, the voices of temperamental men and women, children of the cradle of humanity, emerged. Mrs. Bertha Peace Mabe also sang with strength and feeling, and the last song reminded many of that historic moment when Fidel visited the southern country and received the same kind of affection.
Amidst the joy of song and dance, President Díaz-Canel Bermúdez welcomed the children of Africa, assured them that their presence at the International Fair would be a success, and reminded them: ‘We are brothers and sisters’.
The preamble to this emotional confluence took place in the Nicolás Guillén hall, where, in the presence of the Head of State and other leaders and guests, the opening of the 33rd edition of the Havana International Book Fair took place in the afternoon. The Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture of the Republic of South Africa, Mrs Bertha Peace Mabe, took the floor to convey to all a warm greeting from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and said: ‘We have come here to celebrate, to pay tribute to the literary work of different countries’.
The Deputy Minister spoke of ‘the infinite power of the word’; and also made reference to the strong ties that unite Cuba and South Africa, in a relationship, she said, forged not only in libertarian struggles but also through friendship, solidarity, and cultural exchanges.
To the Cubans, Mrs. Bertha Peace Mabe said: ‘You only took your fallen from our soil, and for that we are very grateful’. After heartfelt applause, she added about the resilience of the Caribbean nation: ‘We have a lot to learn from Cuba’.
The President of the Cuban Book Institute, Juan Rodríguez Cabrera, dedicated his words to the transcendental scope of an event such as the Havana International Book Fair, which is the beginning of a crusade for creation and reading that will travel throughout the archipelago in the following days.
(Presidency of Cuba)