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The official Cuban Union of Writers and Artists (UNEAC) inaugurated the poster exhibition "Soldier of Ideas" on Thursday at the Villena Hall in its headquarters in Havana, dedicated to the centenary of former dictator Fidel Castro as part of the official campaign #ArteFiel.
The event was part of the tribute day for the 65th anniversary of "Words to Intellectuals," the speech that Castro delivered in June 1961 at the José Martí National Library, which established the guiding principle of Cuban cultural policy: "Within the Revolution, everything; against the Revolution, nothing."
The National Prize for Plastic Arts and vice president of UNEAC, Lesbia Vent Dumois, delivered the inaugural speech and recalled a quote from Castro himself in that 1961 address, where he referred to those who were concerned at that time about creative freedom: "Only those who distrust their own art, who have doubts about their true ability to create, can truly be worried about this problem." History would illustrate how foresighted were the artists who feared the wave of "revolutionary" change.
Vent Dumois drew a direct line between the triumph of the Revolution and the rise of Cuban graphic design, asserting that this process "brings about a profound change in the country, an explosion that will stimulate a commitment to the social environment and will also generate a special sensitivity towards collective participation."
The official also highlighted the role of the poster artists who worked for organizations like the CTC, the FAR, the CDR, and the DOR, and explained the purpose of the exhibition: “Today, with this exhibition, we aim to evoke those times and let Fidel, 'the soldier of ideas', lead us by the hand for appreciation and enjoyment.”
The day continued with a conference by Abel Prieto, president of Casa de las Américas and former Minister of Culture, who reviewed the relationship of the deceased dictator with UNEAC and the Cuban intellectual community from 1961 until his death, insisting on "the relevance of his thinking," as reported by the organization itself.
The Honorary President of UNEAC, Miguel Barnet, recalled the presence of Castro at the organization's congresses and focused on what he described as the depth of the Cuban leader's Marxist thought.
The event was attended by representatives of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, officials from the Ministry of Culture, and the president of UNEAC, Marta Bonet, leading the delegation of executives and members of the organization. The day concluded with a concert by the Camerata Cortés, directed by Orlando Valle "Maraca."
The exhibition is part of a centennial propaganda machinery that the regime activated last year, which includes the publication of 23 volumes of Selected Works of Castro, public events, and digital campaigns. In April, President Miguel Díaz-Canel inaugurated another showcase of the same campaign at the José Martí Memorial, titled The Song of the Homeland is Our Song, featuring 30 visual works.
The year 2026 has been officially declared the "Year of the Centennial of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz," whose birth anniversary is celebrated on August 13. This is not the first time that the UNEAC has been involved in celebratory events for Fidel while Cuba faces collapse: Vent Dumois herself led another similar event in April amidst the crisis.
The backdrop of all this official pageantry is a Cuba facing its worst humanitarian crisis in decades. The UN described the situation on the island as a "humanitarian collapse" in May of this year: power outages lasting between 20 to 40 hours daily, the shortage of food and medications is critical, and over 100,000 patients —including 11,000 children— are waiting for surgeries delayed due to lack of power and medical supplies. The infant mortality rate has doubled to 9.9 per 1,000 births in the context of the current crisis.
While the cultural apparatus of the regime allocates resources and spaces to glorify the founder of the dictatorship, millions of Cubans face a collapse that is a direct result of 67 years of a communist system. The exhibition Soldier of Ideas, with its revolutionary posters displayed in the Villena Hall, clearly summarizes the gap between the official narrative and the reality experienced by the Cuban people.
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