The opening day of the 25th National Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba in Panama had a particular stamp of culture in the community of El Espinal, district of Guararé, in the central province of Los Santos, on Friday.

On the initiative of the National Coordinator of Solidarity with Cuba and the Cuban Embassy in Panama, headed by Víctor Cairo; together with the representative of the town, Nilka Morcillo, the evening gala became a genuine display of love and connection between both nations. Children and adults fused in a warm exchange of traditional music, literature, poems, and typical songs, which sealed, according to them, the already strong bonds of brotherhood that exist between both nations.

Young members of the Gabriel Villarreal Music Academy showed their talent with interpretations based on native instruments such as La Mejorana (a type of five-string guitar) and violins, as well as verses dedicated to Cuba.

Visibly moved, Ambassador Cairo praised El Espinal as a cradle of artists and the way in which traditions and values are transmitted from generation to generation, while specifying that the greatest wealth of a country is in its culture.

Before, the delegates to the event paid tribute to National Hero José Martí by unveiling a new bust in his memory at the Regional University Center (CRU) in Azuero province.

In the solemn and fraternal ceremony, Cairo highlighted the legacy of the most universal of Cubans and the main architect of the peoples’ unity to fight their independence struggles and face the most complex challenges.

The diplomat stressed the honor of starting the activities of the 25th Meeting from a higher education institution that is a benchmark for academic cooperation.

According to Professor Adela Panezo, head of the solidarity chapter in the Azuero Peninsula and head of the organizing committee, the event at the Damasco retreat house in the city of Chitré is attended by members of fraternal groups in other territories such as Coclé, Colón, Chiriquí, Panama, Veraguas, Panama West, Darién and the Ngäbe Bugle and Guna Yala regions.

She added that representatives of union, university, indigenous, peasant and women’s groups are accompanying these groups. The agenda consists of a special lecture by Ambassador Cairo on the situation in Cuba and the region, in addition to work in committees.

The 25th Meeting will issue a Final Declaration and various resolutions, including those on the need to exclude Cuba from Washington’s unilateral list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism.

Other opinions will be related to the demand to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States, a hostile policy destined to fail.

The grand meeting is expected to conclude on Saturday with a caravan against the US blockade, which will travel along the main avenues of the central city of Chitré.