Daniel Viglietti Talks About Fidel Castro

Uruguayan singer-songwriter Daniel Viglietti asserted today in this capital that undoubtedly the death of Fidel Castro is a loss that affects and hurts all of us, even with his age and full life.

But on the other hand, he said, we believe that he continues to make us 'feel responsible' for the task of seeking to change the region towards a fairer or better distributed Latin America.

'Fidel leaves us with that job, that activity, he emphasizes, and puts it back,' he stressed in interview Prensa Latina.

I remember, 'he recalled,' when I first met Fidel in 1967 almost half a century ago and I remember that we were in the Isle of Pines, later it was called Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth), and 'we were all in Cuba keeping our eyes on two things: where Che was, Which at that time was not yet known.

He said that the other question, very contingent at the time, was: 'Fidel will come, we will see him', because there were activities such as the Encounter of Protest Song, at the May Hall of Fine Arts and there was the great meeting of the Latin American Organization of The Solidarity, which was eminently political.

All those central meetings made us think: 'May be he is coming here, or will come tomorrow and we were all pending when Fidel would appear, 'he commented.

When we were on the Isla de la Juventud visiting volunteer brigades who were there doing their homework, 'El Caballo (the horse) suddenly appeared 'as he was called there in Cuba', he expressed.

For the Uruguayan guitarist, that 'meeting was wonderful', because we were able to sing to him and I remember I sang to him Song for my America, 'the one that says give your hand to the Indian', there he also listened to other comrades.

Viglietti said that the Cuban leader 'very well synthesized the importance of the message of the song, which could summarize what a political speech can take much more space and time.'

That was the first impact, 'I have some photographs I keep from that time and for me seems to be not true that I was there with him,' said the author of Songs for the New Man of 1968.

Years later, I had the great honor of being able to wear the 'Haydeé Santamaría' medal, the other extraordinary revolutionary companion I had the privilege of meeting at Casa de las Américas, he added.

The Uruguayan singer-songwriter recalled that his first stay in Cuba in 1967 'changed our lives', no one returned the same to their country of origin, we all came back with a huge shock that the Revolution could be done in our own language and with our own idiosyncrasy .

I think he showed it and it is exciting to see the documents that is now being disseminated by Telesur, including his closeness with Che, Camilo Cienfuegos and also with non-Cuban people such as Nelson Mandela, which was a historic meeting, fantastic.

Viglietti asserted that he witnessed speeches by the brilliant Cuban Revolutionary Leader, five hours, 'but that is not my role now, but to briefly recall him, which will always be insufficient for the value of this man,' he pointed out.

There is a chain of Cubans who come from the time of José Martí, Antonio Maceo and undoubtedly Fidel Castro.