This weekend’s celebration of the 49th anniversary of the Cuban Women’s Federation in Havana included a poetry reading in memory of Vilma Espín at the Casa Cultural of the Alianza Bolivariana para los pueblos de nuestra América (ALBA). Nancy Morejón read her poem “Vilma en junio” (Vilma in June), written a few days after Espín’s death in 2007. The event was attended by Abel Prieto, Minister of Culture, and Yolanda Ferrer, general secretary of the Cuban Women’s Federation. Other poets reading from their work included Aitana Alberti, Marilyn Bobes, Lina de Feria, Soleida Ríos and Georgina Herrera. The event also marked the opening of Umbrales (Threshholds), a photographic exhibit by Cuban and Latin American artists and featured the reading by theater director Carlos Pérez Peña, winner of the National Theater Prize, of the monologue “Como caña al viento.”
The Casa del ALBA, a center for the preservation and development of cultural diversity, was built following a 2006 agreement between Fidel Castro and Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez.
Espín, who was born in 1930, was President of the Federation of Cuban Women from its foundation in 1960 until her death. The organization is a recognized ngo which claims a membership of more than three and a half million women. Espín was also a member of the Council of State of Cuba, as well as a member of the Central Committee and the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1980 to 1991. Espín died on June 18, 2007, following a long illness. An official mourning-period was declared from 8 p.m. on June 18 until 10 p.m. on June 19. Her body was cremated, and her remains rest in the “II Frente Frank País” Mausoleum. She was married to Raúl Castro.
Reported in Spanish at http://www.radionuevitas.icrt.cu/2009/08/23/cultura_230809_1.asp
