CubaPLUS Magazine

Sonia Pérez, President of the National Cultural Heritage Council, today highlighted the significance of safeguarding and conserving both tangible and natural heritage as an "expression of a revolutionary culture that reflects upon, protects, and shares itself."

During her opening address at the Second International Congress on the Protection of Cultural Heritage, she recalled that today marks the 65th anniversary of "Words to the Intellectuals"—the seminal speech by the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro (1926–2016), which served as a guiding light and compass, placing culture as the nation's most valuable asset. "This congress is part of that legacy," she emphasized.

The three-day event, attended both in person and virtually by specialists from Peru, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Italy, and Portugal, is being held at the theatre of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana’s historic center.

It also celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage—"that hidden treasure protected beneath the waves, which safeguards centuries of shared history," Pérez noted.

Condemning the challenging conditions under which the congress is held, Pérez pointed out that the U.S. economic embargo—significantly tightened since January following an energy siege imposed by the current U.S. administration—severely impacts the country's capacity to protect, restore, and promote its heritage, asserting that this policy "aims to erase our memory."

The council president highlighted that the island of Cuba is home to nine World Heritage sites, eight elements inscribed as intangible cultural heritage—which she described as "the living soul of our people"—as well as 282 national and 246 local monuments that stand as "witnesses to our history."

The academic program for the opening day included a keynote address by Owan Lay González, Director General of the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Latin America (CRESPIAL), focusing on the implementation and importance of cultural rights within intangible cultural heritage (ICH).

This was followed by a presentation titled Cuba and the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, delivered by Vicente González, Director of the Underwater Cultural Heritage Management Center of Santiago de Cuba.