Mayabeque, Cuba: The laying of the first stone and the unveiling of a plaque on the site where the memorial “El Regreso de Aponte” by the sculptor and National Prize for Visual Arts, Alberto Lescay Merencio, will be erected, took place on the north coast of Mayabeque, chaired by the Vice Minister of Culture, Fernando Rojas Gutiérrez.
This monument will be the first of its kind in Cuba, dedicated to José Antonio Aponte y Ulabarra, free black, anti-slavery and anti-colonialist, who in 1811 led the historic Aponte Conspiracy and the island-wide abolitionist movement.
“The return of Aponte has been a desire of Cuban intellectuals and artists, to promote the African legacy, our historical memory and fight against the vestiges of racial discrimination in our country,” said Pedro de la Hoz, vice president of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC).
In the emotional meeting, historian Ernesto Limia Díaz spoke about Aponte’s fighting ideals, organizational capacity, legacy and the conditions in which he died 210 years ago, along with other battle comrades.
The Governor of Mayabeque, Tamara Valido Benítez, and the social researcher and journalist, Raimundo Gómez Navia, on behalf of the Haitian Community in Cuba, unveiled the project’s sink on the site, between Havana and Mayabeque, known as Punto Cero.
Valido Benítez told those present that the work will keep Aponte’s independence spirit alive and ratified the commitment to complete it as soon as possible, as part of the program to fight racism.
The project also has the leading role of the Caguayo Foundation, the UNEAC Aponte Commission and the National Program against Racism and Racial Discrimination.
