Virtual exhibition ‘Leal a Roig’ to be inaugurated

An exhibition entitled ‘Leal a Roig’ will be inaugurated on August 23rd, organized by Habana Radio station and the Cultural Assets and Heritage Office of the Havana Historian’s Office.

The exhibition pays homage to Cuban journalist and historian Emilio Roig de Leuchsenring, on occasion of a new anniversary of his birth on August 23rd.

A native of Havana, Emilio Roig is best known as one of the founders and leaders of the Cuban revisionist school of historians, a group of writers and scholars, who distinguished themselves by their negative appraisal of U.S. influence on Cuban affairs.

His work reflected this view. In 1933, he was appointed historian of the city of Havana, a position that he used to launch the journal Cuadernos de historia habanera.

Emilio Roig was a strong defender of the idea that the Cuban struggle for independence was not a series of wars but one continuous war that began in 1868, and that U.S. entry into the war in 1898 was not necessary for Cuban victory.

The exhibition ‘Leal a Roig’ compiles documents, photos and audiovisual materials that deal with the life and work of Roig, and also of Eusebio Leal Spengler, a follower of Emio Roig’s work, who served also as Havana Historian up until his death last July 31st. Documents and images, dealing with restoration works in Old Havana stand out.

Due to the epidemiological situation generated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the exhibition will be streamed on digital platforms, including the Facebook pages of the Cuban Ministry of Culture and of the Havana Historian’s Office.