José Martí's anti-colonial thoughts remain current

HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 5 (ACN) “José Martí provides the means to build a new cultural hegemony of emancipation, based on our roots and historical memory as an indispensable weapon,” said Yusuam Palacios Ortega, president of the Marti Youth Movement, during a workshop on colonization and its impact on today’s Cuba held at Havana’s Casa de las Americas.

“As early as in the 19th century, the Apostle warned of the dangers of colonization and urged us to learn about our culture and traditions as the best way to defend ourselves,” he added. “It is essential to adjust these teachings to the new codes of communication in order to dismantle the current manipulation of Cuban matters.”

As an example of Martí's anti-colonial thoughts, Palacios Ortega mentioned the essay Our America, held to be the ideological and cultural program of continental independence, and recalled how he alerted to the danger posed by the expansionist pretensions of the United States and the need to face up to Imperialism’s lies about and manipulation of the Cuban reality.

Among the participants in the workshop were Vijay Prashad, executive director of the Tricontinental Institute of Social Research, and Manolo de los Santos, executive director of The People's Forum, who are visiting Cuba.