During a day of commemoration that ended a few hours ago in the city of Tarquinia, in the Lazio region, 70 kilometers northwest of that capital, Cuban Ambassador Mirta Granda highlighted the life, work and legacy of the hero of independence who fell in battle on March 19. May 1895 and inspired the current revolutionary process in his country.
Granda presented a text by poet and writer Miguel Barnet on the connections between Martí and another great Cuban thinker, Fernando Ortíz, in terms of cultural identity, anti-racism, humanistic practice and the role of both in shaping the ultimate map of Cuban identity as a nation .
The event, organized by the Semi di Pace Association, was attended by, among others, the Italian MEP Massimiliano Smeriglio, Marco Papacci, President of the Italy-Cuba National Friendship Association (Anaic), as well as the Ambassadors of Nicaragua and Bolivia, other guests: Monica Robelo and Sonia Brito.
Representatives from other diplomatic missions in Italy and international organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), based in this capital, were also present, including officials from Panama, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Paraguay, Mexico and El Salvador.
Luca Bondi, President of Semi di Pace and member of the World Council of the José Martí Project, thanked those present, including members of the Lazio Regional Council, for their interest in this event, which encourages reflection on the relevance of Marti’s ideas in the world more current moment in which humanity lives.
Then its director, Maurizio Dioguardi, presented the new “José Martí” Center for International University Studies on Peace and Fraternity among Peoples.
Professor Alessandra Giacobbi, together with her students from the Franceco Orioli art school in the province of Viterbo, presented murals inspired by Martí and made by the latter.
In his speech, Smeriglio referred to the validity of Martí’s thought, its role in the formation of values and its influence not only in Cuba and Latin America, but worldwide, with a particular impact on Europe.
The Nicaraguan Ambassador, who currently chairs the Latin American Group (Grulac) before the FAO, the World Food Program (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), drew a parallel between Martí’s ideas of independence and those of his country hero, Augusto César Sandino.
For his part, Papacci critically analyzed the work of José Martí and his concept of “our uniting America”, citing his anti-imperialism as one of the first to warn of the danger posed by the policies of the United States government. United for the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.
ro/ort