During the event, held at the headquarters of the China Foundation for World Peace, the Cuban ambassador, Alberto Jesus Blanco, denounced the impact of the US blockade on the island’s cultural development and demanded an end to this policy.

The diplomat stated that restrictions prevent the acquisition of artistic materials, musical instruments, equipment for audiovisual production and inputs to restore historical and cultural heritage.

Blanco pointed out that the economic, commercial and financial siege also hinders international cultural exchange, limits the participation of Cuban artists on foreign stages and restricts the dissemination of their works.

“Culture is shield and sword of the nation,” he recalled, quoting the speech Words to the Intellectuals, delivered by the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, in June 1961.

The ambassador stressed that culture constitutes a strategic element to preserve sovereignty, national identity and historical memory, even in the face of economic difficulties faced by the country.

He also highlighted the work of cultural workers, who maintain artistic teaching, creation and heritage protection despite scarce resources.

Blanco reiterated Cuba’s demand that Washington end the blockade and rejected measures which, he claimed, seek to weaken national identity and limit artistic creation.

The diplomat also highlighted the contribution of Chinese immigration to the formation of Cuban identity and recalled the participation of the Chinese people in the island’s wars of independence.

The Day of Cuban Culture is celebrated every October 20 in commemoration of the first public interpretation of La Bayamesa, Cuban national anthem, in Bayamo, in 1868, during the struggles for independence.

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