Glasgow, 27 August 2026.—On Thursday 27 August, Ambassador Ismara Mercedes Vargas Walter organised a wide-ranging programme of events in Glasgow to mark the centenary of the birth of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and the 24th anniversary of the twinning of Glasgow and Havana.
The historical and current ties between the two cities, almost 24 years after they became twin cities, were highlighted during the visit to Glasgow City Chambers, where the city’s Lord Provost, Jacqueline McLaren, welcomed the Ambassador prior to her engagements at the University of Glasgow and the Havana-Glasgow Film Festival.
During the meeting, the historic bonds of solidarity and cultural cooperation were highlighted, exemplified by initiatives such as the Havana-Glasgow Film Festival, as well as the academic ties between the two universities, as set out in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the University of Glasgow and the University of Havana.
Glasgow and Havana: Past Connections and Present Research
Subsequently, the Ambassador joined a group of researchers from the University of Glasgow at the Adam Smith Building to take part in the symposium ‘Glasgow and Havana: Past Connections and Current Research’.
Speakers included Dr Stephen Mullen and Dr Henry Ivy from the Beniba Centre for the Study of Slavery; Professors Harriet Thomson, Helen Yaffe, Dr Albert Gil Gil and Aidan Ratchford from the School of Social and Political Sciences; Professor David Archibald from the School of Culture and Creative Arts; and Dr Soledad Montañez from the School of Modern Languages and Cultures.
The presentations addressed the historical relationship between Scotland and Cuba, including the colonial history of slavery in both countries, as well as the research currently being carried out by the Centre in collaboration with several Caribbean countries.
Other presentations highlighted current cooperation in areas such as political economy, the energy transition, cinema and languages. Notable initiatives include the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the University of Glasgow and the University of Havana in 2024; the visit by the Vice-Chancellor of the ‘Marta Abreu’ Central University of Las Villas to Glasgow in June 2024, as part of Professor Harriet Thomson’s research on sustainability; and the visit by Fidel Antonio Castro Smirnov, Fidel Castro’s grandson, to the University of Glasgow in February 2026.
In her remarks, the Ambassador also paid tribute to Professor Helen Yaffe, whose three decades of research on Cuba were recently recognised in Havana with the Friendship Medal, awarded by the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP).
UK premiere of "Fidel Castro: VENCEREMOS!"
The symposium gave way to the opening night of the 11th edition of the Havana-Glasgow Film Festival at the Glasgow Film Theatre, where its director, Eirene Houston, presented the UK premiere of the documentary "Fidel Castro: ¡VENCEREMOS!".
The screening was preceded by the newsreel *From Fidel to Benny Moré*, by Santiago Álvarez (1963). The 38-minute film features archive footage from the ICAIC — the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry, established just 83 days after the triumph of the Revolution on 24 March 1959 — restored from a collection designated by UNESCO as part of the Memory of the World Register.
Narrated entirely in Fidel Castro’s own voice, without an external narrator, the documentary traces the Literacy Campaign, the creation of a universal public health system and the assertion of national sovereignty: achievements which, the Ambassador noted, Cuba continues to defend ‘against all adversity’, amidst a US blockade that has reached unprecedented levels this year.
Roz Foyer, General Secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), joined Professor Helen Yaffe and Orestes Martínez, Press Counsellor at the Cuban Embassy, on the question-and-answer panel that followed the screening.
The Embassy would like to thank the University of Glasgow, the Havana-Glasgow Film Festival and the city of Glasgow for an event that reaffirmed, once again, the bonds of friendship and solidarity between Scotland and Cuba.