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Fidel Castro Biography At three years of age, in his house in Birán. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on August 13, 1926 in Birán, the old Cuban province of Oriente. His father, Ángel Castro Argiz, son of poor peasants of Galicia, was landlord and settler. His mother, Lina Ruz González, came from a peasant family in the province of Pinar del Río. He learned to read and write in the rural public school of Birán and continued primary education in the private Catholic schools of La Salle and Dolores, in the city of Santiago de Cuba. He started his studies at the Colegio de Dolores and completed them at the Colegio de Belén, of the Compañía de Jesús, in Havana, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in June 1945. The Jesuits of Bethlehem said: "Fidel Castro always distinguished himself in all the subjects related to letters... He was a true athlete, he has managed to win the admiration and affection of all. He will take a law course and we do not doubt that he will fill the book of his life 2 with bright pages. Fidel has wood and the artist will not be missing. " In September 1945 he enrolled in the careers of Law and Social Sciences and Diplomatic Law at the University of Havana. There he was immediately linked to political struggles within the university student body and held different positions in the University Student Federation. He was a prominent member of various progressive and antiimperialist student organizations such as the Pro-Independence Committee of Puerto Rico, the September 30 Committee - of which he was a founder and the Dominican Pro-Democracy Committee, in which he held the presidency. As part of his political activity in those years, he organized and participated in innumerable acts of protest and denunciation against the political and social situation in the country. More than once he was beaten or imprisoned by the repressive forces. Between July and September of 1947, when he was in the third year of the race, he enrolled in the expeditionary contingent organized to fight against the regime of the Dominican dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. The expedition trained at Cayo Confites. He was promoted to lieutenant, squad leader, and then to the head of a battalion company. The expedition, which was transported by ship, was intercepted by a CONTEMPORARY CUBAN PAINTINGS Mora y Amigos 11
SCHEDULE DAY 2, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2017 CHAIR: Dr. Tennyson Joseph Marking the First Anniversary of Fidel Castro s Passing 09:00 09:05 am Call to Order by the Chair 09:05 09:15 am Cultural Presentations in tribute to the 1st Anniversary of Fidel s passing: 1. Well Done A song devoted to Fidel s life and work 2. Massa Day Done, by Dr. Anthony Might Gabby Carter 09:15 09:45 am The Cuban Socio-cultural Transformation on Fidel s Thought and its Impact in the Caribbean by Dr. Jacqueline Laguardia, Member of the Norman Girvan Chair in Caribbean Studies, University of Havana, Cuba 09:45 10:15 am Personal Experiences on Cultural Exchanges Between Cuba and the Caribbean by Dr. Anthony Mighty Gabby Carter 10:15 10:45 am Fidel and the Anti-imperialism as a Legacy for Humankind by Mr. David Comissiong, President of the Clement Payne Movement and Member of the Executive Secretariat of the International Network in Defence of Humanity, Coordinator of the Caribbean Chapter 10:45 11:15 am FEEDBACK & DISCUSSION 11:15 11:30 am COFFEE BREAK 11:30 11:40 am Introduction of the Featured Speaker by H.E. Dr. Francisco Fernández, Cuban Ambassador 11:40 12:10 pm Featured Address: Internationalism in Fidel Castro s Thought: Africa and the Caribbean by Dr. José Ramón Balaguer, Member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Cuba and Head of International Relations Department, Central Committee, Cuba 12:10 12:30 pm FEEDBACK & DISSCUSSION 10 frigate of the Cuban Navy. Fidel jumped into the water with his weapon to avoid being captured. He considered it a shame that the expedition ended up being arrested without a fight. He came into contact with Marxist ideas when he was already a university student. Supporter of the Party of the Cuban People (Orthodox), of progressive tendency, actively participated from 1948 in the political campaigns of that Party and, in particular, of its main leader, Eduardo R. Chibás. Within his political organization he worked to cultivate among the young militants the most radical and combative positions. After the death of Chibás, he redoubled his efforts to unmask the corruption of Carlos Prío's government. Durante los sucesos del Bogotazo. Fidel es el primero, a la izquierda. After his participation in the expedition against Trujillo, he traveled in 1948 to Venezuela, Panama and Colombia as a student leader, with the aim of organizing a Latin American Student Congress, which was to take place in Colombia. He was in Bogotá when the popular rebellion was provoked by the assassination of the Colombian leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, in April of that year. In March 1949 he led a protest in front of the US diplomatic mission in Havana, to express popular outrage at the disrespect of the monument of the National Hero of Cuba, José Martí, by US Marines. Fidel graduated as Doctor in Civil Law and graduated in Diplomatic Law in 1950. From his office, he devoted himself mainly to the defense of the poor. When the coup d'etat of Fulgencio Batista took place, on March 10, 1952, he was among the first to denounce the reactionary and illegitimate nature of the de facto regime and to call for its overthrow. He organized and trained a large contingent of more than a thousand young workers, employees and students, who came mainly from the Orthodox ranks. With 160 of them, on July 26, 1953, he commanded the assault on the Moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba and the Bayamo barracks, in an action conceived as a trigger for the armed struggle against the Batista regime. The attempt failed. He was taken prisoner a few days after the military setback and was held incommunicado for 76 days. He was subsequently tried and sentenced to 15 years in prison. In a 3
reserved and guarded environment, he assumed his self-defense before the court that tried him, and pronounced the allegation known as History Will Absolve Me, in which he outlined the program of the future Revolution in Cuba. "No weapon, no force is capable of defeating a people that decides to fight for their rights. Historical examples past and present are countless. The case of Bolivia is very recent, where the miners, with dynamite cartridges, defeated and crushed the regiments of the regular army, he said on that occasion. Una de las primeras fotos de Fidel después del asalto al Cuartel Moncada, tomada en el Vivac de Santiago de Cuba por el fotógrafo Ernesto Ocaña del periódico "Diario de Cuba" From prison he continued his work of denouncing the oppressive regime, while he matured his revolutionary plans and deepened the theoretical and ideological preparation of his companions. As a result of strong pressure and popular campaigns, he was released in May 1955. In the weeks that followed he undertook an intense work of agitation and denunciation, and founded the July 4 26 Movement to continue the revolutionary struggle. In July 1955, when it was impossible to continue the anti-batista struggle by legal means, Fidel left for Mexico to organize the armed insurrection from exile. In precarious economic conditions and subjected to the close surveillance and persecution of the Batista s agents, he deployed an arduous organizational and preparatory work, while an intense campaign of dissemination of the ideas and purposes of the insurrection movement continued. He traveled to the United States, where he created together with his exiled compatriots "patriotic clubs" in order to get political and economic support for the revolutionary struggle. He was in Philadelphia, New York, Tampa, Union City, Bridgeport and Miami. With the motto: "In 1956 we will be free or we will be martyrs", Fidel, Raúl, Juan Manuel Márquez, Ernesto Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos and other distinguished revolutionaries were training with long walks through the streets of Mexico City, climbing mountains, personal defense, guerrilla tactics and shooting practices. On June 20, 1956, the head of the July 26 Movement, Ché Guevara and other combatants were arrested, the "camp houses" were discovered and an important part of the weapons were SCHEDULE DAY I, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2017 CHAIR: Dr. Tennyson Joseph 11:00 11:30 am José Marti and Fidel Castro: The Philosophical Roots of the Cuban Revolution. By Dr. Francisca López, President of Fidel Castro and José Marti Chairs, University of Havana 11:30 am 12:00 noon The Transformation of the Cuban Health System Under Fidel s Guidelines by Dr. Alafia Samuels, Director, George Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre, UWI 12:00 12:30 pm Fidel s Cuba and the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean by Dr. Kai-Ann Skeete, Trade Research Fellow, Shridath Ramphal Center for International Trade Law, Policy & Services, UWI, Cave Hill Campus 12:30 01:00 pm FEEDBACK & DISCUSSION 01:00 02:00 pm LUNCH 02:00 02:30 pm Fidel Castro: The Architect of Unity by Ms. Idalmis Brooks, Senior Officer, Caribbean Desk, International Relations Department, CPC, Cuba 02:30 03:00 pm Fidel and Religious and Spiritual Diversity in Cuba and the Caribbean: by Dr. Yanique Hume, Lecturer, Faculty of Humanities, UWI, Cave Hill Campus 03:00 03:30 pm A Tale of Two Independences: Cuban vs Caribbean Conceptions of the Use and Practice of Sovereignty by Dr. Tennyson Joseph, Head, Department of Government, Sociology, Social Work and Psychology, UWI, Cave Hill Campus 3:30 4:00 pm FEEDBACK & DISCUSSION 9
OPENING CEREMONY WELCOME Dr. Tennyson Joseph, Head & Chair 10:00 10:10 am Remarks by Professor Clive Landis, Deputy Principal, UWI, Cave Hill Campus 10:10 10:20 am Remarks by Government Representative 10:20 10:30 am Remarks by Cuban Ambassador, Francisco Pena 10:30 10:45 am Cultural Performances: 10:45 11:00 am COFFEE BREAK 1) A Cuban Contemporary Painting Exhibition 2) A song devoted to Ché Guevara 3) The Song Riding with Fidel devoted to Fidel Castro s work and life 8 seized. After the departure of the Mexican police establishments, the revolutionary conspiracy accelerated. They bought the Granma yacht, which sailed for Cuba in the early hours of November 25, 1956, from the Tuxpan River, with 82 fighters on board, whose average age was 27 years. En la Sierra Maestra. Esta foto se publicó el 17 de febrero de 1957 en el periódico norteamericano "New York Times", durante la entrevista del periodista Herbert Matthews a Fidel. After 7 days of navigation, they disembarked on December 2 in Las Coloradas, the south-western coast of the former province of Oriente. Batistian forces located the landing and harassed the expedition members. On December 5, the army of tyranny surprised Fidel and his combatants in Alegría de Pío. The revolutionaries were decimated, several are arrested and many are killed on the spot. With the valuable collaboration of the peasants, Fidel met Raúl in Cinco Palmas and reorganized the revolutionary force, and proceeded to the Sierra Maestra to continue the revolutionary struggle from there. On January 17, 1957, he led the first armed action against Batista's army in the La Plata barracks and won his first victory. The Rebel Army began to grow and strengthen. In his capacity as Commander in Chief, he led the military action and the revolutionary struggle of the rebel forces and the July 26 Movement during the 25 months of war. He had under his direct control Column One "José Martí" and personally participated in almost all operations, battles and most important battles that took effect during the war in the territory of the First Rebel Front. After overwhelming defeat of the elite government troops, the Government decided to recognize the rebel victory in the theater of operations of the province of Oriente, on December 28. At dawn on 1 st January 19, 1959, Fidel faced, with a revolutionary general strike, obeyed by all workers, launched the coup d'état in the capital of the Republic, promoted by the US government. He entered the same day victorious in Santiago de Cuba and arrived in Havana on January 8. At the end of the insurrectionary struggle, he maintained his functions as Commander in Chief. On February 13, 1959 he was appointed Prime Minister 5
of the Revolutionary Government. Fidel en un acto en El Cacahual, 7 de diciembre de 1961. Fotógrafo: Liborio Noval. He led and participated in all actions undertaken in defense of the country and the Revolution in cases of military aggression from abroad or activities of counterrevolutionary bands within the country, especially the defeat of the invasion organized by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States, carried out by Playa Girón in April 1961. He led the Cuban people in the days of the dramatic October Crisis of 1962. In the name of the revolutionary power, he proclaimed on April 16, 1961, the socialist character of the Cuban Revolution. He served as Secretary General of the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations, and later as Secretary General of the United Party of the Socialist Revolution of Cuba. From the Constitution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba in October 1965, his position was that of First Secretary and 6 Member of the Political Bureau, which has been ratified by the five Party Congresses held since then. He was elected Deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power, representing the municipality of Santiago de Cuba, in successive sessions since 1976, and from then until 2008 he held the positions of President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers. He has presided over official Cuban missions in more than 50 countries. He received more than a hundred high Cuban and foreign honors, as well as numerous honorary academic distinctions from higher education centers in Cuba, Latin America and Europe. He strategically led the participation of hundreds of thousands of Cuban fighters in internationalist missions in Algeria, Syria, Angola, Ethiopia and other countries, and has promoted and organized the contribution of tens of thousands of Cuban doctors, teachers and technicians who have provided services in more of 40 countries of the Third World, as well as the accomplishment of studies in Cuba on the part of tens of thousands of students of those countries. More recently, he promoted comprehensive programs of Cuban assistance and collaboration in health in numerous countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the creation in Cuba of international schools of Medical Sciences, Sports, and Physical Education and other disciplines for Third World students. Durante una intervención en el programa Mesa Redonda de la Televisión Cubana. He was promoted on a world scale the battle of the Third World against the current international economic order, in particular against the external debt, the waste of resources as a result of military spending and neoliberal globalization, as well as efforts for the unity and integration of Latin America and the Caribbean. He led the decisive action of the Cuban people to face the effects of the economic blockade imposed on Cuba by the United States for more than forty years and the economic consequences of the collapse of the European socialist community, and promoted the tenacious effort of Cubans to overcome the serious difficulties resulting from these factors, their resistance during the so-called Special Period and the resumption of the country's economic growth and development. On July 31, 2006, he resigned from official positions due to health problems. He wrote many reflections and articles throughout his convalescence. He devoted great efforts in his last years to projects related to agriculture and human and animal food. Because of his moral authority, he influenced important and strategic decisions of the Revolution. Fidel's life can not be reduced to a few lines. His permanent and indissoluble bond with the people, his brilliant oratory, his constant teaching, in short his unlimited dedication to the cause of the Revolution have left an indelible mark on the Cuban people and have served as inspiration for millions of men and women of all the continents. The future generations of Cubans will have in him, as in Martí, a deep motivation to give continuity to his work. He died on November 25, 2016, in Havana, Cuba at 10:29 in the evening, at the age of 90. In compliance with his will, his remains were cremated. His ashes were deposited in the Cemetery of Santa Ifigenia in solemn ceremony on December 4, 2016. 7