The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel, participated this Wednesday in the presentation of the “25 for 25” Project, an initiative of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, which will distribute more than two and a half million books free of charge to young people in 14 Latin American countries, including Cuba.
The event in Havana took place simultaneously with the inauguration by its promoter, from the Zócalo in Mexico City, of this educational and cultural project that Díaz-Canel defined as “a bridge of paper and ink that unites the youth of our Americas.”
With this event and this remarkable collection, we honor this shared history of culture, solidarity, hospitality, and rebellion. These books that Mexico is placing in the hands of Cuban youth today continue that deep and profound dialogue that has spanned so many centuries. “25 for the 25th” was born from a simple yet powerful conviction,” he emphasized.
In his remarks, the head of state affirmed that “the youth of Latin America and the Caribbean deserve to have books in their hands, not just on display; they deserve stories that speak of their neighborhoods, their sorrows, their hopes, voices that dare to question, to imagine other possible and better worlds.”
He asserted that “each book in this collection is an invitation to look at the region’s past and present with fresh eyes. Within these pages, there are dictatorships and resistance, love and loss, anger and also tenderness.” These are books written by Latin Americans who dared to say no to injustice and yes to the dignity of our people.”
In the Hall of Lost Steps, and before an audience of some one thousand young people, the Cuban president thanked Mexico for including the largest island in the Antilles in this wonderful project.
“By launching it here, we recognize Cuba’s place in the political and cultural history of the continent, but we also invest in its future, in the young people who today study, work, create, and resist. It is an act of justice toward the Cuban Revolution and its historic leader, Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro,” Díaz-Canel noted.
He also emphasized that “these books arrive in Cuba to engage with its own literary tradition, with its poets, its storytellers, its teachers, its professors, and its reading promoters.”
Later, he addressed the young people present, saying: Take these books and read them on your own. Yes, but also read them aloud, share them, discuss them, critique them. Let each book pass from hand to hand until the paper is worn out, but the ideas multiply. Reading is not a luxury or a school punishment; it is a right and a form of freedom. Each page is a question that no one can answer for you. “Each story is an opportunity to imagine the kind of world they want to live in.”
While the first box of books was being opened in Mexico City to launch an extraordinary reading promotion project, a symbolic ceremony was also being held in Havana, moderated by Abel Prieto Jiménez, president of Casa de las Américas.
The prominent intellectual noted that Cuba and Mexico distribute and give books to young people, while others distribute bombs and threats.
“We,” he said, “are sharing culture,” and he harshly criticized the United States’ stance toward Venezuela and the militarization of the Caribbean.
For his part, the Mexican ambassador to Cuba, Miguel Díaz Reynoso, emphasized that the collection is a commitment to the region’s memory, and stated: “This is a modest gift for Cuba and its youth. Cuba only wants to live in peace. In this struggle, Cuba knows it is not alone; it has Mexico’s support.”
More than two and a half million books by some thirty Latin American authors were distributed simultaneously this Wednesday in 200 cities across Latin America and the United States.
The collection includes works by authors such as Juan Gelman, Gabriel García Márquez, Roberto Fernández Retamar, Eduardo Galeano, Juan Carlos Onetti, and Mario Benedetti, among others.
IMAGE CREDIT: Photo taken from Radio Rebelde
[ SOURCE: RADIO REBELDE ]
