Despite current times—exacerbated by challenges of all kinds—the institution reaches nearly half a century of existence on July 19, remaining faithful to the principles and culture that define us as a people.

Over the years, the center and its staff have upheld the mission for which it was created, an initiative driven by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro and intellectual Armando Hart Davalos, Cuba’s Minister of Culture at the time.

  “Even if we lack many things, we cannot forsake culture and spirituality,” noted CEM Director Marlene Vazquez during the gathering, recalling the importance Fidel, Jose Marti, and Fernando Ortiz placed on these values.

  In her remarks, PhD in Literary Sciences highlighted that the center’s founding realized Julio Antonio Mella’s aspiration to systematize the study of the work of the “Apostle of Independence”—a task carried out by CEM scholars and researchers in partnership with other institutions.

  Violin music accompanied various moments of the evening, which launched the lead-up to the entity’s 50th anniversary and recognized the contributions of prominent historian Pedro Pablo Rodriguez and University of Havana Vice-Rector Jose Antonio Baujin.

Italian professor Luca Bondi, president of the Semilla de Paz (Seed of Peace) Humanitarian Association, also spoke at the event, underscoring the importance of the center—an institution Fidel once described as a “Trench of Ideas.”

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