30th Anniversary of the José Martí Cultural Society Celebrated

On Cuba’s National Culture Day, the First Secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, presided over the celebrations marking the 30th Anniversary of the José Martí Cultural Society. The organization was founded on October 20, 1995—the centenary of the death in combat of Cuba’s National Hero—by Armando Hart Dávalos, Cintio Vitier, Eusebio Leal, Roberto Fernández Retamar, Carlos Martí Brenes, and Enrique Ubieta Gómez.

The Society emerged from a core group of prominent intellectuals dedicated to the study, dissemination, and teaching of José Martí’s work. The project received unwavering support from Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, as highlighted during the commemoration held Monday afternoon at the José Martí Memorial in Havana.

The celebration was also part of activities commemorating the centenary of the Historic Leader of the Cuban Revolution and served as a tribute to Armando Hart Dávalos on the 95th anniversary of his birth, as well as to the late intellectual Eduardo Torres Cuevas.

A Gathering of Cultural and Political Figures

The event was attended by Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Communist Party’s Central Committee; Yuniaski Crespo Baquero, member of the Central Committee and head of its Ideological Department; Deputy Prime Minister Inés María Chapman Waugh; and Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso Grau, among other leaders from the Party, Government, the Young Communist League (UJC), the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), the Hermanos Saíz Association (AHS), and the National Culture Workers Union. They were joined by members of the José Martí Cultural Society (SCJM) and its provincial and municipal chapters.

Víctor Hernández Torres, vice president of the SCJM, recalled the Society’s founding amid the economic and ideological challenges of the Special Period, as a concrete response to Fidel Castro’s call that “the first thing to be saved was culture.”

Reviewing the Society’s three decades of work, Hernández Torres highlighted its contribution to promoting Martí’s teachings among the Cuban people, particularly the younger generations, and—above all—in defense of the Cuban Revolution.

He emphasized that the José Martí Cultural Society has been, as Armando Hart once said, “one of the arms of the ideological work of our Revolution.” From its original nucleus formed by Martí scholars, the Society has expanded to all municipalities, schools, factories, and research centers, now boasting more than 20,000 members nationwide.

Posthumous Tribute to Torres Cuevas

During the anniversary celebration, the Félix Varela Order, First Class, was posthumously awarded by Presidential Decree to Eduardo Moisés Torres Cuevas, described as “a great Martiano and, above all, a revolutionary intellectual.” The distinction was presented to his widow, Patricia González Díaz, by President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.

Additionally, Rafael Polanco Brahojos, vice president of the SCJM and director of Revista Honda, received the Distinction for National Culture from Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso Grau.

The 30th Anniversary Commemorative Seal of the José Martí Cultural Society was also awarded to intellectuals Abel Prieto Jiménez, Enrique Ubieta Gómez, and Graciela Rodríguez Pérez (“Chela”), a close collaborator of Armando Hart for many years. The seal will continue to be presented to numerous Cuban personalities for their contributions to spreading and teaching Martí’s legacy, between October 20 and December 7, in provinces and municipalities across the country.

Culture as a Force of Resistance

Closing the event—marked by Cuban music and poetry—Vice Minister of Culture Lizette Martínez Luzardo praised the Society’s contributions to Martí education both in Cuba and abroad.

She affirmed that this work stands as proof that culture is essential to the resilience of the Cuban people, emphasizing that “these are times when we must return, again and again, to Martí and Fidel—to everything that reminds us who we are and where we come from.”