Venezuelan troubadour Leonel Ruiz performing during the A Song for Cuba concert at the Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas, Venezuela. Photo: Con el Mazo Dando.
On Saturday, April 18, the Ríos Reyna Hall of the Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas hosted the concert A Song for Cuba, a moving expression of support and solidarity with the people of Cuba in the face of the blockade imposed unilaterally by the US for more than six decades. The event, which began at 2 p.m., is part of the Love is Repaid with Love campaign and seeks to raise funds to mitigate the effects of the economic blockade against Cuba, an ally of Venezuela.
The solidarity event was organized by the Simón Bolívar Cultural Brigade, the Simón Bolívar Institute for Peace, the University of Communications, and the Future Movement. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the Venezuela-Cuba Mutual Friendship and Solidarity Movement, and ALBA Movements also participated.
The event filled the Ríos Reyna Hall at the Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas, bringing together prominent singers and artists, including Grupo Madera, an iconic group known for its Venezuelan and Caribbean folk rhythms and politically conscious lyrics.
Also participating were Elena Gil, Iván Pérez Rossi, the Teatro Negro de Barlovento, and soloists such as Marta Doudiers and the troubadour Leonel Ruiz, as well as members of the Simón Bolívar Cultural Brigade paying tribute to Cuban resistance through creativity and militant lyrics. The program featured a repertoire of Cuban nueva trova, son, and guaracha alongside traditional Venezuelan music.
The funds raised during these events will fund the installation of solar panel systems in Cuba. The Cuban ambassador to Venezuela, Jorge Luis Mayo Fernández, was in attendance.
Lídice Altuve, vice president of the Simón Bolívar Institute, highlighted the joint work of the Cuba-Venezuela mutual solidarity committees and the Hugo Chávez Brigade, with the participation of delegates from Latin America and the Caribbean for the realization of the event.
“Today, our people rise up alongside Cuba, with the strength of Simón Bolívar and the clarity of José Martí,” said Altuve. “We want to tell you that you are not alone, you never have been, because what hurts Cuba hurts Venezuela. This is what our commanders Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro sowed when they built a brotherhood that knows no distance or threats.”
María Chirinos, a cultural figure and attendee at the event, described the day as an occasion for mutual recognition between both nations, where participants expressed their condemnation and repudiation of the US regime of illegal unilateral coercive measures (euphemistically referred to as “sanctions”) applied against both Cuba and Venezuela.
Tania Díaz, secretary of international affairs for the PSUV, described the initiative as a necessary act of reciprocity: “Venezuela must be especially supportive because Cuba has given us everything; it brought us love, health, companionship, and cared for our grandparents.”
The leader noted that Cuba has provided medical and sports assistance to Venezuela and that this event represents an opportunity to extend a helping hand in the face of the difficulties caused by the US imperialists’ economic warfare against Cuba.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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