Africa in the hearts of Cubans |25 May 2022

There are many reasons for Cuba to commemorate the Africa Day every May 25.

Cubans feel proud of our African roots, for the decisive contribution to the formation of the Cuban nationality made by more than one million two hundred thousand Africans who arrived in our country, torn from their lands by the abhorrent slave trade, and whose presence marked the history of Cuba.

The African influence can be seen in all the manifestations of our culture: plastic arts, music, dance, literature, musical instruments, food, religiosity, in the Cuban way of being.

This cultural fusion found its maximum expression in our independence struggles of the 19th century, when most of the troops of our Liberation Army and many of its leaders were of African descent.

After the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Cuba and Africa have forged strong and solid relations of friendship, solidarity and cooperation from the deployment of the first Cuban medical mission in Algeria in 1963 to the present.

Almost half a million Cubans fought in Africa against colonialism and for independence, two thousand two hundred eighty-nine of them paid the supreme sacrifice of their lives fighting in this continent.

In all these years, hundreds of thousands of Cuban collaborators have rendered their services in Africa, in the sectors of health, education, construction, sports, agriculture and many others.

From 1961 to the present, tens of thousands of young people from most African countries have graduated in Cuba.

Our special relations of friendship and cooperation with Africa have a very high support from the Cuban population, as a result of the solidary and altruistic education of our people, who know a lot about the African continent, thanks to the wide presence of the subject in our media and the study of the continent by numerous national institutions.

Africa is deep in our hearts.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our deep and sincere gratitude for the expressions of solidarity with Cuba, which have their highest expression in the resolutions adopted every year by the African Union condemning and calling for the immediate lifting of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed against Cuba by the government of the United States of America.

Faithful to our common history, Cuba renews its commitment to continue strengthening relations with the African continent with the purpose of making them increasingly broader and more dynamic.

Finally, in the context of this celebration, we wish Africa every success in the implementation of its development projects and agendas for the benefit of all Africans.

Congratulations and success to our African brothers and sisters!

Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in the Republic of Seychelles