Cuba Solidarity Campaign-Cymru Cuba Ceredigion

Cuba Solidarity Campaign-Cymru Cuba Ceredigion We promote friendship and solidarity with the Cuban people, and campaign against the US blockade. We are part of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign and Cymru Cuba.

🇨🇺 𝗔𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱𝗼 𝗧𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗼 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘇 — 𝗖𝘂𝗯𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀 18 September 1980On this day 46 years ago, Cuba reached space.Aboa...
18/09/2026

🇨🇺 𝗔𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱𝗼 𝗧𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗼 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘇 — 𝗖𝘂𝗯𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀

18 September 1980

On this day 46 years ago, Cuba reached space.

Aboard the Soviet Union's Soyuz 38, Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez became the first Cuban and the first Latin American to travel into space — and the first person of African descent to do so.

Born into a poor family in Guantánamo, Tamayo's journey from humble beginnings to the Soviet space programme was remarkable. But his achievement also represented something much larger than the accomplishments of one individual.

The Cuban Revolution had opened access to education, training and opportunities that had previously been denied to many young people because of poverty and social inequality.

As Fidel Castro said after the flight:

“With the Revolution, the doors were opened for him, as they were for all our youth and for all our people: the opportunity to study, the opportunity to improve himself, the opportunity to serve his people.”

Fidel also placed the mission within Cuba's commitment to science and technological progress. The flight carried out experiments relating to medicine, natural resources, materials important to electronics and microelectronics, and solar energy. Fidel emphasised that the ultimate value of space research lay in what science could contribute to humanity.

Tamayo himself later recalled Fidel's close interest in their preparations:

“He was very interested in our preparation for the space flight because it was a scientific and technological achievement… He was very pleased that Cuba had participated in an event of this kind, and we owe that to him, because he signed the first scientific and technical cooperation agreement with the Soviet Union.”

And Tamayo's own assessment of Fidel was unequivocal:

“Fidel is unique… Fidel has gone down in history as one of the greatest revolutionary leaders. His thinking meant a great deal to me.”

Tamayo went on to continue serving Cuba, including as a member of the National Assembly and in Cuba–Russia friendship organisations.

From Guantánamo to the Cosmos, his journey became a symbol of what education and scientific endeavour, the Cuban Revolution has made possible for the people.

As the Trump administration escalates the cruel US blockade against Cuba, we say :

Cuba is not a threat, The Blockade is !

Solidarity with Cuba !

End the Blockade Now !

17/09/2026

🇦🇴 Agostinho Neto — poet, revolutionary, liberator

Today we remember Agostinho Neto, born on 17th September 1922 — poet, doctor, revolutionary and first President of independent Angola.

Neto devoted his life to the liberation of Angola from Portuguese colonial rule and to the struggle for a genuinely independent Africa. But for Neto, independence was never simply a matter of replacing one flag with another.

Political independence had to be followed by economic emancipation — reclaiming Angola's land, natural resources and wealth for the benefit of its people, and building a society free from the structures of colonial exploitation.

His vision was expressed beautifully in his poetry. Writing in prison in 1960, in Havemos de Voltar (We Shall Return), he imagined a liberated Angola returning to its farms, rivers, forests and traditions — and even to its diamonds, gold, copper and oil.

“We shall return
to liberated Angola,
independent Angola.”

Those words capture something fundamental in Neto's thinking: freedom meant reclaiming a country — its land, its resources, its culture and its future.

And Neto understood that the liberation of Angola was part of a much wider international struggle.

His friendship with Fidel Castro and revolutionary Cuba became an important part of that history. Cuba stood alongside Angola when its independence was threatened, and the bonds forged between Neto and Fidel became the foundation of a lasting friendship between the two peoples. Cuba's role in defending Angola's independence remains one of the great examples of internationalist solidarity.

Today we remember Agostinho Neto not simply as the first President of Angola, but as a revolutionary whose vision connected national liberation, economic sovereignty, culture and international solidarity.

“Havemos de voltar.” We shall return.

Osnay Miguel Colina Rodríguez Secretary General of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC) spoke to delegates at the T...
17/09/2026

Osnay Miguel Colina Rodríguez
Secretary General of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC) spoke to delegates at the Trades Union Congress in Brighton yesterday.

In highlighting the devastating impact of the US blockade, he told the Congress :

"Cuban workers are not simply victims of the crisis. They are the people keeping hospitals and essential services operating, producing food, maintaining infrastructure and finding solutions under extraordinarily difficult conditions."

Please read the shared post for more details.

MUHAMMAD ALI — THE CHAMPION WHO CAME TO CUBA Muhammad Ali was never afraid to step outside the boxing ring.He challenged...
15/09/2026

MUHAMMAD ALI — THE CHAMPION WHO CAME TO CUBA

Muhammad Ali was never afraid to step outside the boxing ring.

He challenged racism and injustice in the United States, refused to fight in Vietnam, and stood in solidarity with peoples struggling against war, colonialism and oppression.

And Ali had a special place in his heart for Cuba.

In 1996, he travelled to Havana to meet Fidel Castro and deliver humanitarian aid in solidarity with the country as the US was tightening its cruel blockade.

Two years later, in September 1998, he returned — bringing around $1.2 million in medicines and medical equipment for Cuban hospitals, denied to them by the US stranglehold on the island.

During the visit, he publicly called for an end to the US blockade. Fidel, making a surprise appearance at a reception for the American delegation, spent around two hours with Ali and actor Ed Asner.

It was a remarkable meeting between two men who had each challenged the power of the United States.

At a time when Washington was imposing sanctions and isolation, Muhammad Ali came to Cuba as a friend carrying medicine.

And Cuba welcomed him with warmth.

Two fighters. Two champions. One unforgettable encounter.

Cuba is Not Alone !

Cuba is Not A Threat, The Blocklade Is !

14/09/2026

Alberto Korda — Photographer of The Cuban Revolution -- was born on 14th September 1928.

Alberto Korda is remembered throughout the world for one extraordinary photograph — Guerrillero Heroico (The Heroic Guerrilla) his iconic 1960 portrait of Che Guevara.

But Korda was much more than the photographer of Che.

Before the Revolution, Korda was a successful fashion photographer in Havana. The triumph of the Cuban Revolution changed the direction of his life. He became fascinated by the people and ideals of the new Cuba, and eventually spent almost a decade travelling alongside Fidel Castro as his personal photographer.

Their relationship became a genuine friendship. Korda wasn't simply recording political events; he captured Fidel as a warm human being — laughing, thinking, travelling, fishing and sharing moments with those around him.

Korda once described his approach simply:

“I carried a camera on my chest and captured everything that moved me.”

And what a remarkable visual record he left behind.

His photographs captured the triumphant entry into Havana, Che and Fidel together, ordinary Cubans participating in the Revolution, and countless intimate moments which brought its leaders and people to life.

Then there was Guerrillero Heroico.

Korda took the photograph almost instinctively, making just two exposures as Che appeared briefly behind Fidel at the memorial for the victims of the La Coubre explosion.

The photograph initially went largely unnoticed, but then travelled around the world — becoming one of the most recognisable images of the twentieth century.

Perhaps that is the real legacy of Alberto Korda.

He didn't simply photograph a Revolution.
He believed in it — and helped the world see it.

Alberto Korda — photographer, revolutionary, friend and witness to history.

Photo Sequence:

Alberto Korda photographing Che Guevara & his wife Aleida March, Havana 1960.
Unknown Photographer.

Fidel with Child. 1960

Fidel & Camilo Cienfuegos Enter Havana, 1959

Militia Woman. 1960

The Heroic Guerrilla. 1960

Quixote of The Lampost. 1960

Contact Sheet with the iconic photo of Che, 1960

Poster by Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick based on the
iconic photo. 1968

OSPAAAL Poster by Elena Serrano, Cuba, 1968

All Photos by Alberto Korda from Museo Che Guevara/Wikimedia Commons.

The Tocororo — A Bird of LibertadCuba, whose government and people stand determined to defend their freedom and sovreign...
13/09/2026

The Tocororo — A Bird of Libertad

Cuba, whose government and people stand determined to defend their freedom and sovreignty, has a national bird unlike any other.

The Tocororo, Cuba's beautiful native, is found nowhere else on Earth. With its flashes of red, white and blue, its feathers echo the colours of the Cuban flag.

But the Tocororo represents something deeper: libertad — freedom.

A long-standing Cuban tradition holds that the Tocororo cannot live in captivity. The symbolism is powerful: this is a bird that belongs in the wild, flying free.

It is easy to understand why such a bird has become associated with the Cuban idea of libertad — a word woven deeply into the island's history, from the struggles for independence to the Revolution and the continuing defence of Cuban sovereignty.

And perhaps today the Tocororo can remind us of another kind of freedom: the freedom of nature to flourish.

Cuba's comprehensive environmental legislation commits to protecting its extraordinary biodiversity, endemic species and protected areas, while supporting the restoration of natural ecosystems. And Cuban scientific institutions are in the forefront of the confronting the challenges of climate change

A bird that belongs only to Cuba.
A bird of colour, beauty and freedom.
A living symbol of libertad.

As the Cuban people face the devasting impact of Trump's cruel escalation of the US blockade, we demand :

Let Cuba Live !
End the US Blockade Now !

Photo credits :
Baldo Simone CC BY-SA-4.0.
Charles J. Sharp CC BY-SA-4.0
both Wikimedia Commons (cropped for layout)
& Uttan Ghosh (India).

Today, we remember Amílcar Cabral, born on 12th September in 1924 — one of the great leaders and thinkers of Africa’s li...
12/09/2026

Today, we remember Amílcar Cabral, born on 12th September in 1924 — one of the great leaders and thinkers of Africa’s liberation struggles.

Founder and leader of the PAIGC, Cabral devoted his life to the liberation of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde from Portuguese colonialism. But he was much more than a military or political leader. An agronomist, writer and revolutionary theorist, he developed a profound understanding of the importance of culture, political consciousness and the participation of ordinary people in the struggle for liberation.

Cabral was a great friend of the Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro. When he travelled to Havana for the 1966 Tricontinental Conference, he met Fidel and spoke of the struggle of his people against Portuguese colonialism. The meeting helped strengthen the bonds of solidarity between Cuba and the PAIGC, with Cuba subsequently providing medical, technical and military assistance to the liberation struggle.

Fidel said of Amílcar Cabral :

“He is one of the most lucid and brilliant leaders in Africa, who instilled in us tremendous confidence in the future and the success of the struggle for liberation"

For Cabral, international solidarity was not an abstract ideal. The liberation of one people was bound up with the liberation of others.

He was assassinated in 1973, before seeing the independence for which he had fought. But his ideas, his example and his belief in the dignity and creative power of peoples remain alive.

Amílcar Cabral — revolutionary, thinker, African liberator and friend of Cuba

His famous words still challenge all who struggle for a better world:

“Tell no lies. Expose lies whenever they are told. Mask no difficulties, mistakes, failures. Claim no easy victories.”

11/09/2026

Today we remember Carlos Puebla — El Cantor de la Revolución, born in Manzanillo on this day in 1917 — the great Cuban troubadour whose guitar and voice became inseparable from the Revolution.

Puebla stood alongside Fidel and embraced the revolutionary process with warmth, humour and conviction. His songs became a living chronicle of a Cuba transformed — Y en eso llegó Fidel, Son de la Alfabetización, De Cuba traigo un cantar and many others carrying the hopes and struggles of a people into the world.

But Puebla's music never stopped at Cuba's shores. He travelled widely as a cultural ambassador, carrying the voice of revolutionary Cuba to audiences across Latin America, Europe, Africa and beyond. His internationalism was expressed not simply in words, but in the way he used his music to connect Cuba's struggle with the struggles of peoples everywhere.

And then there is Hasta Siempre, Comandante — born from the night Fidel read Che Guevara's farewell letter in 1965, and destined to become one of the world's great songs of revolutionary solidarity.

Carlos Puebla showed that a song can carry a revolution across borders.

🎶 Hasta siempre, Carlos Puebla.
¡Viva Cuba! ¡Viva la solidaridad internacional!

Here we share a short excerpt from his tribute to Fidel 'Y en Eso Llego Fidel' (And That's When Fidel Arrived'

Cofio Carlos Puebla — Cantor y Chwyldro

Heddiw cofiwn Carlos Puebla, a aned yn Manzanillo ar y diwrnod hwn ym 1917 — y trwbadŵr Ciwbaidd mawr y daeth ei lais a’i gitâr yn rhan annatod o’r Chwyldro.

Safodd Puebla ochr yn ochr â Fidel, gan gofleidio’r broses chwyldroadol gyda chynhesrwydd, hiwmor ac argyhoeddiad. Daeth ei ganeuon yn gronicl byw o Giwba oedd yn newid — Y en eso llegó Fidel, Son de la Alfabetización, De Cuba traigo un cantar a llawer mwy — gan gario gobeithion a brwydrau pobl Ciwba allan i’r byd.

Ond nid oedd cerddoriaeth Puebla erioed wedi’i chyfyngu i Giwba. Teithiodd yn eang fel llysgennad diwylliannol, gan gario llais Ciwba chwyldroadol i gynulleidfaoedd ar draws America Ladin, Ewrop, Affrica a thu hwnt. Roedd ei ryngwladoliaeth yn cael ei mynegi nid mewn geiriau yn unig, ond drwy ei gerddoriaeth — gan gysylltu brwydr Ciwba â brwydrau pobl ym mhob rhan o’r byd.

Ac yna mae Hasta Siempre, Comandante — cân a anwyd yn dilyn darllen llythyr ffarwel Che Guevara gan Fidel ym 1965, ac a ddaeth yn un o ganeuon mawr undod chwyldroadol y byd.

Dangosodd Carlos Puebla y gall cân gario chwyldro dros ffiniau.

Hasta siempre, Carlos Puebla.
¡Viva Cuba! ¡Viva la solidaridad internacional!

HAVANA 1979: Cuba hosts the Non-Aligned Movement.From the 3rd to the 9th of September 1979, the eyes of the world turned...
09/09/2026

HAVANA 1979: Cuba hosts the Non-Aligned Movement.

From the 3rd to the 9th of September 1979, the eyes of the world turned towards the Cuban capital of Havana.

Cuba was hosting the Sixth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) — which brought together the nations and liberation movements of Africa, Asia and Latin America that had emerged from the struggles against colonialism, racism and imperial domination.

94 countries. Around 1.5 billion people.

It was one of the largest gatherings of world leaders ever held — and it took place not in a Western capital -- but in Revolutionary Cuba.

Among the many guests was O.R. Tambo, President of the South African liberation movement, the ANC and Yasser Arafat of the PLO.
Both leaders acknowleged Cuba's unwavering support for their people's struggles.

Fidel assumed the Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement for the following three years, placing a small Caribbean island at the political centre of a movement representing the overwhelming majority of the peoples of the developing world.

The Summit condemned imperialism, colonialism, racism, zionism and apartheid, defended the right of peoples to self-determination and called for a New International Economic Order based on equality and cooperation.

Fidel understood the historic significance of the gathering.

At the close of the Summit, Fidel, who was decisive in maintaining the unity of the Movement,
declared it :

“more unified, more powerful and more independent than ever.”

That was the significance of Havana.

A revolutionary government born from a struggle against imperial domination had become the voice of a much wider struggle — for sovereignty, economic justice, national liberation and a different international order.

Havana 1979 was Cuba saying: we are not alone.

And it was the peoples of the Global South declaring:

We are the majority, the time for imperialist domination is over.

Today, 8th September is marked across the world as International Literacy Day.We celebrate literacy as a fundamental r...
08/09/2026

Today, 8th September is marked across the world as International Literacy Day.

We celebrate literacy as a fundamental right — and remember the extraordinary example of revolutionary Cuba.

In 1961 just two years after the triumph of the Revolution , Cuba launched a nationwide campaign to eradicate illiteracy. Thousands of teachers and young volunteers travelled into the countryside, taking books, lessons and the opportunity to learn to people who had previously been denied that basic right.

In less than a year, more than 700,000 Cubans learned to read and write and Cuba was able to declare the country free of illiteracy.

The campaign was about more than teaching letters and numbers. It was a massive popular mobilisation — young people, teachers, workers, peasants and communities united in the belief that education should belong to everyone, not just the privileged.

As Fidel declared to the Brigadistas, as the volunteers were known,

“The battle to be won against ignorance will give our country more glory than the military battles already fought or still to be fought.”

"If you know, teach, If you don't know, learn."

That spirit remains as relevant now as it was in 1961, and since then Cuba has supported Literacy campaigns in more than thirty other countries.

And today Cuba has a literacy rate of 99.8%, more in than the US and one of the highest in the world.

On International Literacy Day, we stand in solidarity with all those around the world still fighting for the right to education, knowledge and the opportunity to shape their own future.

And despite the devasting impact of the cruel US
blockade, Cuba continues to provide a education system accessible to all.

Underlining the centrality of education, Cuban President, Miguel Diaz-Canel recently stated :

"As long as there are classrooms with students and schools with teachers in Cuba, there is a nation, a homeland, there is a Revolution, and there is Socialism "

Cuba has shown us that another world is possible, where illiteracy is vanquished and education is a right.

We must stand with Cuba and demand an end to the unjust US blockade !

Address

Aberystwyth

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Cuba Solidarity Campaign-Cymru Cuba Ceredigion posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category