Kingston, Jamaica, 19 August 2019. Nearly 150 people packed the Jamaica Petroleum Corporation Auditorium on Sunday, 18th August in Kingston to celebrate the life of the Commander in Chief of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, on the 93rd anniversary of his birth (August 13, 1926).
The event, organized by the Friends of Cuba organization and the Jamaica-Cuba Friendship Association (JCFA), was attended by members of the Parliament of Jamaica the Honourable Anthony Hylton and the Honourable Horace Dalley, other personalities of Jamaican politics and culture, a considerable representation of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps accredited in the country, members of various Jamaican organizations in solidarity with Cuba - including JCFA, the Jamaica Peace Council (JPC), the Association of Graduates from Cuban Colleges, the Left Alliance for National Democracy and Socialism (LANDS) and the Pan-African Federalist Movement (PAFM)- the ‘Antonio Maceo’ Association of Cuban Residents in Jamaica (ACRJ) and the Cuban State Mission in this Caribbean nation.
The floor was successively taken by the members of Parliament present as well as by representatives of the diplomatic missions and organizations invited. Their speeches reflected admiration and respect for Fidel; the gratitude to the Cuban Revolution for its selfless cooperation in health, education, professional training and other fields, and solidarity with the struggles of our people for the lifting of the criminal economic, commercial and financial blockade, the return of the territory illegally occupied by the Guantanamo Naval Base and against the anti-Cuban campaigns and measures of the current US administration.
Mr. Ulises Calvo Borges, Third Secretary in Charge of Consular Affairs, spoke on behalf of the Cuban Embassy.
The audience enjoyed the performances of the Jamaican troubadour Eloy Elad and the Venezuelan singer Mr. Luis Felipe Bellorín. Short films about passages in the life of the Commander in Chief were screened and a birthday cake with an allegorical design was cut. Mr. Imhotep Ashanti, PAFM coordinator, presented gifts to the Embassies of Cuba and Venezuela to mark this important date.
