At the opening of the event, Enrique Portuondo, president of the Máximo Gómez Association of Cubans living in the Dominican Republic, commemorated the 97th anniversary of the birth of the Argentine-Cuban hero, a pioneer of internationalism and a staunch anti-imperialist.

He also recalled the patriotic legacy of Major General Antonio Maceo of the Liberation Army, on the 180th anniversary of his birth, who, he said, “taught us from Baraguá to defend the dignity of the homeland against the enemies of independence.”

How to continue defending that sacred land (Cuba) together with our heroic people is the essence of the meeting; how to face the challenges of a renewed blockade and the maximum pressure measures of the United States government against our people and our families is the challenge, Portuondo pointed out.

How to root ourselves in Cuban identity, culture, and sports, and contribute to the economic and social development of our people in the face of an increasingly crisis-ridden world and an empire that seeks to change our history and erase our culture, is the dilemma for all of us, wherever we may be, he said.

The journalist and communicator also maintained that in the face of these challenges, the secret is unity in diversity, that is the secret to winning, it is the tactic and strategy for victory, he assured before about a hundred participants.

The meeting was attended by delegates from 13 countries under the slogan “For peace, against the blockade and terrorism, for the defense of the homeland and Cuban identity.”

A delegation from the Cuban Foreign Ministry, led by the director general of Consular Affairs and Cubans Resident Abroad, Ana Teresita González, and the Cuban ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Ángel Arzuaga, are attending the event, which will conclude tomorrow with a march against the blockade.

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