“The immense joy unites us that a little piece of Cuba continues to beat from this capital, after building again the figure of the revolutionary, teacher, philosopher, and poet,” Dafne Concha, councilwoman of the Santiago commune, stated.

Concha remembered that over the last four years, unknown individuals twice tried to separate the monument from its concrete base and take it away to sell the metal or perhaps for other political purposes.

However, low-income people living in the Yungay neighborhood prevented them from doing so.

The councilwoman said, “Here is our Jose Marti standing, just as the Cuban people currently stand, resisting the attacks of imperialism and more than 60 years of the United States blockade.”

During a ceremony at the monument, held this weekend to celebrate Cuban Culture Day, Rosario Rodriguez, First Secretary of the Cuban Embassy in Santiago, thanked Hector Umana, Dafne Concha, and all workers who rescued and restored the monument.

jdt/iff/oda/car