This is one of 100 murals that the Communist Party of Argentina (PCA), with the support of other popular and neighborhood organizations, plans to paint throughout Argentina. This one in Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province, is the first one to be done.

David Esteban, political secretary of the PCA in that city south of Buenos Aires, told Prensa Latina that the idea behind painting 100 murals with Fidel’s image is “to value and recover our identity and dreams, and what the Commander-in-Chief taught us, which is the cultural battle. To wage it on every front, at every moment, in every place.”

The artist who created the mural, Isaac Benapres, a communist activist from Varela and a leading figure in the Movimiento Kultural organization in that Buenos Aires town, told Prensa Latina that the mural “is a symbol, especially for young people, that marks a turning point; it continues to be a place of searching for a new world. Fidel continues to build; he lives on in us.”

That is why, he added, “it is extremely important that this cultural battle we are waging includes his figure, which represents thousands and millions of people around the world, and especially us Latin Americans, who consider him our father as well.” The painter admitted his feeling of “great pride in being able to create a mural of our beloved Fidel.”

It is also essential to emphasize, he noted, that the murals are made with the support of the community. “There is no academic or specific artist who creates them; rather, it is a collective effort, just as Fidel liked it.”

More than fifty organizations in Argentina are promoting the “We Stand with Cuba” campaign to raise funds to purchase solar energy equipment to send to the island. Simultaneously, a program of activities is underway to celebrate Fidel Castro’s centennial, which will be commemorated on August 13.

jdt/nmr/mh