"The Amadeo is a symbol of our culture, if we need to halt another investment project, we will halt it to ensure this one," stated Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso Grau, during his February 21 visit to the Amadeo Roldan Theatre-Auditorium (of significant patrimonial value), as part of a tour of works in progress that additionally include the José Martí National Library of Cuba, the Che Guevara Study Center, the Línea & 18th Culture Station, and the community project Clave de Sol’s headquarters in San Agustín, in La Lisa.
Closed for ten years, the Amadeo Roldán is the principal and most demanding project underway in the cultural sector, given what it represents for the country’s symphonic and choral movement, the minister said, insisting on the importance of maximum quality in its restoration and re-opening.
At a cost of more than 20 million pesos, the repair work conducted over the last decade has made significant progress, after eliminating the most serious structural problems on its six levels, where a stop has been put to further deterioration.
With its opening scheduled for the first quarter of 2022, work will begin on the façade, which is in very poor condition and has not yet been touched, to then proceed to reconditioning of the interior and installation of technology and furnishings.
The project has the support of a number of national enterprises and entities, including Atrios, devoted to Services and Execution of Works, Projects and Engineering Services; Tecnoescena; the Investment Project Center; the Cuban Institute of Music; and the Ministry of Culture.
During his visit, in which he was accompanied by other ministry officials and the national press, Alpidio Alonso Grau insisted on the need for quality assurance in the costly projects currently being undertaken. He insisted that these will not be delayed, despite the country’s current economic situation, a product of the inhumane blockade Cuba faces, maintained by the most powerful empire in the world for more than 60 years.
At José Martí National Library, the Minister checked on progress being made on what will become the Eliseo Diego children's and youth room, which should be ready by July 2, the date of the poet's centennial. He then toured the Che Guevara Study Center’s facilities, which are undergoing repairs and maintenance and should be completed by July 26. This effort is designed to guarantee optimal conditions for the preservation of the Argentine-Cuban revolutionary’s historical legacy.
His last two stops were the Culture Station at Línea and 18th, on the cultural corridor being created along Línea Avenue, in te Havana neighborhood of Vedado, affiliated with the Cuban Fund for Cultural Heritage, where the minister reviewed the progress of the work there. The facility, with a multipurpose design, is set to open in December. At the headquarters of the community project Clave de Sol, in San Agustín, La Lisa, Alonso interacted with children and youth enjoying activities organized here by art instructors.
