Hundreds of people gathered at the entrance to Bilbao City Hall, in the Basque Country, where they reiterated their solidarity with Cuba at the close of a fundraising campaign.
According to Prensa Latina, the demonstration received strong popular support for the call made by Euskal Herria-Ekimena, the Basque Country-Cuba friendship association, and the internationalist platform Hegoak, which brings together Basque unions, political parties, and NGOs.
The demonstration was titled “Kuba: Genozidioa Gelditu” (Cuba: Stop the Genocide), and served as the culmination of the campaign “Argia eta indarra Kubarentzat. ¡Contra el bloque, energía para Cuba!” (Strength and power for Cuba! Against the blockade, energy for Cuba!), which raised 244,000 euros from 1,255 donations for the Caribbean island.
With these funds, the purchase of supplies for two large solar energy installations has already begun, in collaboration with the Swiss-based NGO Medicuba-Europa. These installations will be destined for the William Soler University Pediatric Hospital in Havana, which serves 140,000 children annually.
On one hand, its Polyclinic, and on the other, its Inpatient Ward will be fully powered, without dependence on electricity or fuel for its generators.
The campaign, launched in March, received the support of 130 intellectuals and artists, leading figures in Basque culture, including Bernardo Atxaga, Fermin Muguruza, Aitziber Garmendia, Itziar Ituño, Joseba Sarrionaindia, Anje Duhalde, Eñaut Elorrieta, Jon Maia, and Ines Osinaga.
Among the highlights of the event, the Oihulari Klown group performed a “besarkada ekintza,” a welcoming ceremony with hugs for those who attended.
Then, Milagros Acea (Cienfuegos), Dana Moya (Granma), and Tony Merlán (Santa Clara) spoke, describing the dire situation their people face due to the criminal economic and energy blockade imposed by the Donald Trump administration.
They also denounced the threat of military intervention looming over the island. Furthermore, they agreed that the White House’s objective is to drive the population to despair and force them to surrender their sovereignty. L
Later, according to Cubainformación, clown artist Virginia Imaz performed her masterful “Clownclusions” and engaged the audience in a deeply moving human chain.
Virginia Imaz and Ohulari Klown were in Cuba a few months ago, bringing their art to different venues and participating in various exchanges with colleagues from the Caribbean nation.
To close the event, Basque singer-songwriter Xabi San Sebastián performed, among other songs, his well-known song inspired by Cuba, “Konpai,” and concluded with “Amo esta isla” by Pablo Milanés.
The event also served as a platform for the international online petition campaign in support of the Cuban people and their sovereignty, “Firmo por Cuba” (I Sign for Cuba), launched by the labor movement and announced during the International Solidarity Conference held in Havana on May 2nd.
In the days leading up to the event, Basque actress and singer Itziar Ituño, in a video message in Basque, called on citizens to attend, while Cuban pediatrician and daughter of Che Guevara, Aleida Guevara, sent another video message thanking the Basque people for the aforementioned solidarity campaign.
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
