With a massive political and cultural evening, led by the former Vincentian Ambassador to Cuba, Mr. Dexter Rose and organized by the Association of Vincentians graduated in Cuba, the Friendship Association of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines/Cuba, the Association of Cubans Residents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, in collaboration with the Cuban Embassy, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, once again, expressed its solidarity with Cuba, at a time when the U.S. blockade against the largest of the Antilles is intensifying.
Renwick Rose, President of the SVG-Cuba Friendship Association resolutely condemned the US blockade against the island, the unsuccessful attempts by successive US administrations to break the will of the Cuban people, as well as the recent restrictions imposed by the US government to strangle the island's economy by such cruel and illegal means as the creation of obstacles to the country's access to oil.
Referring to the history, breadth and depth of the nexus of friendship, sympathy and solidarity between SVG and Cuba, Renwick recalled that in 1979, on the occasion of the eruption of the Soufrière volcano, when St. Vincent was not yet an independent state, the Republic of Cuba sent a ship with help to assist the small Caribbean island at a difficult time.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Ambassador of Cuba Vilma Reyes Valdespino denounced the recrudescence of the US blockade and pointed out that President Trump's policy towards Cuba has the tints of an immoral and genocidal offensive, which has entered a shameful and sinister spiral in broad daylight.
The diplomat thanked the Vincentian people for their expressions of solidarity, the invariable support of the SVG government for Cuba's struggle against the blockade and pointed out that, as José Martí once said in difficult times of the struggle against Spanish colonialism, "who rises today with Cuba, rises for all times".
Messages of gratitude and solidarity were expressed by the Association of Vincentian graduates of Cuban universities.
The President of the Association of Cubans Residing in SVG, Arianna Taylor, read a firm Declaration condemning the US blockade against Cuba and supporting the Cuban Revolution.
Senator Kay Baccus Baptiste recalled her trip to Cuba in 1979 on the occasion of the II CARIFESTA festival; Fidel's meeting with the Caribbean delegations; the wonderful experience of his contact with Cuban culture and the influence of Cuban sonorities and dances on her artistic perception.
The President of the Association of Artists, Writers and Producers of SVG, René Baptiste, recalled her participation in several editions of the International Book Fair in Havana, her travels to Cuba with Vincentian artists, among others. In weighing the relations of friendship and collaboration between SVG and Cuba, René Baptiste said that a country like Cuba must be the object of all the solidarity it needs.
The interventions alternated with a concert that included masterful interpretations of the Cuban pianist Zhaily Sariol, the Vincentian percussionist Ken Isles, the Vincentian violinist Darron Andrews, as well as a poetry space, by the renowned Vincentian poet Cecil Blazer Williams and the Cuban poet Lic. Neuricel Fonseca.
Finally, a presentation of Latin Jazz closed the cultural segment of the activity.
