On a warm, breezy day in New York City, the spirit of Cuba filled the SVA Theater. Solidarity activists gathered to hear Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla speak with clarity and fire about the island’s unyielding struggle against the U.S. Empire’s economic war. The blockade has sought to suffocate Cuba for over six decades—draconian laws, arbitrary punishments, the shameful “State Sponsors of Terrorism” list. Yet still, Cuba resists. Still, Cuba breathes. Still, Cuba fights.
Bruno invoked the life and passing of Assata Shakur—warrior of the Black Panther Party, soldier of the Black Liberation Army—who lived and died a free Black woman, forever an ancestor of rebellion.
Poetry and music by KINDRED BUSINESS and Desiree Jaha lifted the gathering, reminding us that art is also a weapon of struggle.
Manolo de los Santos closed with a call that echoed like a drumbeat: no matter what, we must stand together—Cuba, Palestine, Congo, Sudan, and all the peoples of the world—against every empire that dares to repress and divide us.
That night, we felt it: the divine spark of love, the unbreakable bond of solidarity, the revolutionary spirit that transcends borders. Assata Presente! Cuba resists. The people rise.
¡Cuba Sí, Bloqueo No!
