Zapata Swamp, Matanzas-People of the Soplillar neighborhood evoked this December 24 the Christmas Eve in which Fidel and other leaders of the nascent Revolution, 65 years ago, shared dinner with several families of charcoal burners.
The evening to commemorate that historic event was attended by the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who highlighted the obvious symbolism of that gesture of Fidel, who since then had already conceived economic and social projects to improve the lives of the charcoal burners.
Referring to the event, the Cuban leader defined it as an emancipating event of great historical value.
He explained that the fact that he chose to spend the first Christmas Eve with the most humble people after the triumph of 1959 left a message of altruism, sensitivity and commitment to the people, and was proof that in the Revolution we all have the same opportunities.
The dinner to reedit the event took place at the Memorial Library 50th Anniversary of the Charcoal Dinner with Fidel, in Soplillar, something like a living museum that recreates the image and the atmosphere of what life was like for the Zapata Swamp locals, especially the charcoal burners, who lived in abject poverty.
One of the poets presented told it in his own way, saying that on that December 24, 1959, the charcoal burners and Fidel “ate from the same plate”.
Accompanied by Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Party, the Cuban leader toured the Memorial Library, where it is easy to follow what happened that day, and which is, in turn, a permanent tribute to Fidel.
The most encouraging was the pleasant dialogue with Julio Amorin, a researcher of the territory, with the participation of several witnesses of the event, as well as Alexis Leyva Machado (Kacho) and Nemesia Montano, the legendary Flor Carbonera (Charcoal Flower).
It was something unexpected. My father and other neighbors here never imagined that Fidel would come to have dinner with such poor people, said Haydee García Montano, who was only nine years old at the time.
It was already getting dark when he and those who accompanied him got out of two small helicopters, she says, although she says it is a distant memory.
“He asked for more people from the neighborhood to come, and he immediately approached the children and talked to us, asked if we went to school, and I answered that only sometimes, because we didn't have shoes, and my mother didn't like us to go barefoot.”
“Later, around midnight, we accompanied him to the place where he boarded the helicopter. I think he was happy, because he smiled and made gestures to hug all of us at the same time.”
“After that, we continued to get together as a family to celebrate the date; but there was nothing like the dinner with Fidel; that one was unforgettable”.
THE CONVICTION WE ALL SHARE
The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic shared with a representation of the inhabitants of Soplillar, “the tremendous courage, in the current conditions in which the country is,” to be with them.
“We have lived through hard times, the times of the Revolution have always been hard, we are always under threat, but we all have the conviction that we have to defend the Revolution”. And one of the best ways to convince why we have to defend the Revolution, he reflected, is to see how you remember that dinner of the charcoal burners with Fidel”, how you defend it.
“In times like these -he added-, it is not only fighting for the economic prosperity of the country, which is important and necessary and we have to achieve it in the shortest possible time, but it is also having a historical memory and not forgetting where we come from, because the sap of that history, the arguments that one can look for in that history, is where the answers for the present moments are and where the answer of what we have to do for the future is.”
Díaz-Canel expressed to the Zapata Swamp locals his emotion for having shared the afternoon with them. In experiences like these one is ratified in convictions, he told them, he met very interesting people.
“People who have tremendous courage, and that is where one also finds what sustains the Revolution. You are part of the heroism of that people. You give tremendous energy to continue fighting and fighting for the homeland, for the Revolution and for socialism.”
AT THE KORIMAKAO HEADQUARTERS
The President's visit to the Zapata Swamp began yesterday afternoon at the headquarters of the Korimakao Community Artistic Ensemble, located in the iconic Zapata Swamp community of Pálpite.
Founded on August 13, 1992, by Commander Faustino Perez and legendary actor Manuel Porto, the company defines itself as an artistic institution “dedicated to offering opportunities as creators, artists and promoters of cultural activity to young people with talent and vocation, without necessarily having to be graduates of artistic education”.
Porto made this one of the most outstanding artistic projects in the country, converging all the arts, such as performing arts, music, plastic arts, literature and audiovisual media, in a conception, say his disciples, “of integrality and transdisciplinary dialogue; betting on the value of artistic creation in the improvement of the integral quality of life of human beings”.
Yandel Miguel Roche Mirelles, director of the project, said that the institution has 58 workers, 40 of them artists of the different manifestations that come from different territories of the country.
He highlighted among the results, in these 32 years of foundation, the capacity and vocation to bring art to all the communities of the Zapata Swamp.
The Cuban President praised the development of the company despite the difficulties, which is evident in the good condition of the facilities, which he said was a small community of artists, as well as the ongoing community work.
