Concert in Havana Celebrates Friendship with City of St. Petersburg

The National Theater of Cuba hosted the concert "St. Petersburg-Cuba: Dialogue of Cultures" this Sunday, as part of a delegation visit from the Russian city to the Caribbean nation.

The performance commemorated the 25th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between Cuba and St. Petersburg and the 510th anniversary of the founding of the province of Santiago de Cuba, located in the country's eastern region.

The audience enjoyed the talent of Meritorious Artist of the Russian city Grigori Chernetsov, musicians Iraida Nikolaeva, Valentina Dolguina, Yuri Baltachev, the Bárinia State Dance Ensemble, the BIS-KVIT Ensemble, and the Atamán Cossack Ensemble.

"Moscow Nights," "The Nightingale," "Until Forever, Commander," "Peter I," "Music of Friendship," and "Katyusha" were some of the 14 presentations in the Avellaneda Hall of the National Theater, which showcased Russian musical art and the closeness between the two peoples.

The concert was attended by the governors of Havana and St. Petersburg, Yanet Hernández and Alexander Dmitrievich Beglov, respectively, who reaffirmed the important role of the former Leningrad in strengthening diplomatic relations and friendship between Cuba and Russia.

"The friendship between Cuba and St. Petersburg is 25 years old; for some it may be a lot, for others a little, but I think it can be much more; thousands of kilometers separate us, but brotherhood unites us," Governor Beglov declared to the audience.

During the event, videos were screened about the past visit of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel to the Russian city and the student graduation festivity "Scarlet Sails," which is celebrated annually on the banks of the Neva River.

St. Petersburg, the cultural capital of Russia, was founded in 1703 under the reign of Tsar Peter I and is also known by its former names of Petrograd and Leningrad.