Cuban nationals in Namibia celebrate their cultural day this week. New Era spoke to the Cuban Ambassador to Namibia, Ana Vilma Vallejera, about the political and economic situation of the island population.
By Catherine Sasman
What is the significance of the Cuban week hosted by the French-Namibian Cultural Centre this week?
On October 20 we celebrate the Cuban Cultural Day. For us that means the birth of our Cuban nationality. It was the first time our national anthem was sung in public in 1868 and it was the start of the independence war. It was also the birth of our feeling like Cubans. Before that the population in Cuba were Spaniards who owned farms, sugar mills, and so on. Most of their children were already born in Cuba and many could not understand why Cuba should be a colony of Spain; that consciousness was rising. It also came with the realisation of the necessity to free the slaves, most of them of African origin.
The father of Cuban independence, Carlos Manuel de C???_?_’???_?’???_?