With a concert at the headquarters of the Cuban Embassy in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Government and grateful people of the sister Caribbean nation, along with diplomats, collaborators and Cuban residents in that country, paid memorial tribute to Commander in Chief Fidel Castro on the day of the 59th anniversary of the Federation of Cuban Women, an organization closely linked to Fidel's vision and thought.
Attended the event H.E. Mrs. Susan Dougan, The Governor General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the Honorable Ralph E. Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the Hon. Camillo Gonsalves, Minister of Finance, Sustainable Development and ICTs; the Hon. St. Claire St. Clair Prince, Minister of Education, National Reconciliation and Information; the Honorable René Baptiste, President of the OECS Parliamentary Assembly, Mr. Cuthbert Knights, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, wellness and the Environment, Ms. Dora James, Supervisor of the National Elections Office; Mr. Maxwell Charles, Director of Regional Integration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Sheon Marshall, Spokesperson and Chief of the of the Prime Minister's Press Office; Deborah Dalrymple, Dean of the University of the West Indies Open Campus, as well as other personalities.
Among those present were also the Venezuelan Embassy collective, headed by Ambassador, HE. Mr. Francisco Pérez Santana; Renwick Rose, President of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines-Cuba Friendship Association; Mike Browne, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the SVG/Venezuela Friendship Association; Kezron Walters, President of the Youth wing of the ULP Party.
In her opening remarks, the Cuban Ambassador Vilma Reyes Valdespino, recalled that in the founding act of the FMC on August 23, 1960, Fidel defined women as a Revolution within the Revolution and stressed that his visionary initiative to merge into a single feminine organization, the many of its kind existing in Cuba to revolutionary triumph, gave rise to an organization that today is an indispensable actor, linked to social, educational, cultural and health tasks, and inserted in the heart of the Cuban neighborhood.
The concert, full of virtuosity, cubanism and patriotism, included the Danzón "Sarah" and a bouquet of traditional Cuban music, masterfully performed by pianist Zhaily Sariol Varela; three beautiful pieces performed by violinist Samuel Toka; performances by vocalists Arianna Taylor and Alfredo Percy Ballart, with musical accompaniment by Zhaily Sariol and Samuel Toka and an emotional declamation of the poem " March of the Rebel Army " by Neuricel Fonseca Sánchez.
At the end of the concert the "Guantamera" and "Cuba, que Linda es Cuba" (Cuba, how beautiful is Cuba) took over the auditorium that chanted, standing, the lyrics of the two Cuban songs.
After the concert, the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves shared, with those present, important reflections on the personality of Fidel, whom he called a Giant.
Ralph Gonsalves recalled his last encounter with Fidel, his last conversation with him, and recounted his astonishment at the scope and depth of the themes in which Fidel remained immersed until the last days of his existence. The President expressed his personal commitment to defend the legacy of Fidel Castro until his last breath and stressed that he misses Fidel very, very much.
