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Giant billboard on side of
Pichincha Volcano
A
billboard with President Fidel Castro’s name has
been placed since Sunday, August 13 on the side of
Pichincha Volcano, 12 kilometers west of Quito, the
capital of Ecuador, as a tribute to the leader for
his 80th birthday.
The
billboard’s inscription is comprised of giant
letters spelling out “Fidel,” and can be seen from a
great distance and from various points of the city.
Each letter, fashioned in white-colored plastic, is
15 meters high and 10 meters wide, and has been
anchored with wood and iron.
Cristina Barrera, president of a committee of
parents whose children are scholarship students in
Cuba, told the Associated Press that this was an
initiative by young Ecuadorians studying on the
island, who together with their families, wanted to
“celebrate his birthday and express the immense
gratitude that they feel for having provided the
opportunity to study in Cuba.”
Barrera
added that “this message also expresses our
solidarity with the Cuban people in response to any
foreign attempts to attack Cuba’s sovereignty and
independence.”
In
Santiago de Chile, the solidarity movement and
Chilean social and political organizations
celebrated the Cuban president’s 80th birthday with
a seminar titled “Fidel and the anti-imperialist
struggle,” which took place with a full house at the
Victor Jara Hall, and speakers included Guillermo
Teillier, president of the Communist Party;
socialist Senator Alejandro Navarro; Manuel Cabieses,
editor of Punto Final magazine; and Cuban
Ambassador Giraldo Mazola.
Participants all pointed out the trajectory,
leadership and role played by the leader of the
Cuban Revolution in emancipation struggles that have
taken place and are taking place in Latin America,
Africa and other Third World countries.
“Because of his ideas and action, he is one of the
most outstanding figures of the 20th century in
Latin America and the rest of the world,” affirmed
Cabieses, as he opened the discussion, which was
moderated by Miraya Baltra, former minister of labor
under the Salvador Allende government.
“It is
of that country, that leadership, and the reality
that it represents in the world that we are talking
about when we pay affectionate tribute today, with
love, admiration and respect, to Fidel Castro as he
celebrates his 80th birthday,” emphasized the
Punto Final editor.
In the
U.S. city of Miami, celebrations for Fidel’s
birthday were also held, and contrary to the acts of
ill will held by Cuba’s enemies, organizations in
solidarity with the island such as Alianza Martiana,
Los Maceitos, the ATC, the José Martí Brigade and
the Bolivarians of Miami spoke out and even trailed
a large banner behind a small airplane that flew
over the city bearing the inscription: “Fidel,
Congratulations for your 80 years of life.”
The day
before, a march was organized in Buenos Aires by
Argentine political and social organizations (PCA,
the FJCA, the Territorial Liberation Movement and
groups of friendship and solidarity with the
island), which went to the Cuban embassy in that
city to express support for Cuba and wish good
health to President Fidel Castro.
Carrying a large white banner with the slogan “Hang
in there, Fidel!” in red and blue letters, along
with the Cuban and Argentine flags, demonstrators
shouted “Vivas!” for Cuba and the Revolution, as
slogans for the liberation of the Latin American
peoples.
In
response to a call by one of the organizers,
Alejandro Forni, general secretary of the Communist
Youth Federation of Argentina (FJCA), participants
sang “Happy Birthday” to the Cuban leader.
The
youth leader expressed Argentine wishes for a speedy
recovery of the Cuban leader, and noted that they
are on Cuba’s side at this time, when its enemies in
the United States are advocating intervention to
overthrow the Revolution, and urged the Revolution
to stay firm and defend its conquests.
Forni
gave Cuban Ambassador Aramís Fuente a mural tapestry
as a gift “to reach the hands of compañero
Fidel, whom we hope will get well soon.”
“This
is a painting by the Jorge Calvo Muralist Brigade,
of the Communist Party of Argentina (PCA), with
artistic representation of the presidents of Cuba,
Bolivia and Venezuela — Fidel Castro, Evo Morales
and Hugo Chávez, vanguards of Latin American unity
and integration,” he said.
The
tapestry, several meters long, was unfurled in
Córdoba during the MERCOSUR Summit attended by the
three leaders, and during a public event at the
university where the Venezuelan and Cuban presidents
spoke.
They
also presented a wooden carving of Fidel Castro with
the slogan “Hang in there, Fidel!” which was used as
a model by a youth brigade that painted it in
streets all over Buenos Aires.
MANU
CHAO’S CONCERT IN LOS ANGELES
“Hang
in there, Fidel!” shouted some of the young people
who attended the concert by French/Spanish singer
Manu Chao two weeks ago in Los Angeles, California.
The
artist, a symbol of the anti-globalization movement,
is on tour in the United States, and attracted more
than 4,000 people to a performance where he
criticized Washington’s policies and honored the
undocumented immigrants who die while crossing the
border.
“Enough
of the White House’s bombs!” exclaimed the singer of
“Me gustas tú” (I Like You) adding “The terrorism
problem is solved by culture and education.”
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