The Embassy of Cuba in Zimbabwe has commemorated the centenary of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, celebrating the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution as a symbol of dignity, solidarity and resistance whose influence continues to resonate across Africa.
Delivering a passionate address at the commemorative event, Cuba’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, H.E. Mrs Susellys Pérez Mesa, described Fidel as an “eternal rebel” who placed Cuba on the world map through its commitment to international solidarity and human dignity.
“Although he did not come from a poor family, he decided to dedicate his life to helping the humble,” Ambassador Pérez Mesa said.
She recalled Fidel’s leadership of the Cuban Revolution, which triumphed on January 1, 1959, and transformed the Caribbean nation. His influence, she said, remains evident in virtually every area of Cuban society, including healthcare, education, sport, biotechnology, culture and science.
“What we have achieved and what we are as a nation, we owe to him,” she declared.
The ambassador portrayed Fidel not only as Cuba’s revolutionary leader but also as a global statesman who devoted his life to defending oppressed peoples and supporting just causes.
His conviction that a better world was possible, she said, inspired Cuba’s support for African liberation movements in their struggles against colonialism and apartheid.
Fidel’s relationship with Africa was expressed through Cuba’s military and humanitarian assistance, as well as through development programmes that followed the continent’s liberation. Thousands of Cuban professionals have served in African countries as doctors, teachers, coaches, agricultural specialists and cultural practitioners.
The commemorative event also recognised Cuban doctors, professors and other professionals serving in Zimbabwe.
“Cuba’s friendly hand has always reached Africa with the humility that comes from gratitude for the African legacy of which the Caribbean nation is a product,” Ambassador Pérez Mesa said.
She stressed that Cuba came to Africa to help the continent stand on its own feet—not to take away its resources. Cuba’s only losses, she said, were the lives of those who fought and died alongside Africans in the struggle for freedom.
Quoting Fidel’s remarks from February 1999, the ambassador said Cuba would always take pride in having contributed to the defeat of apartheid forces and the liberation of African peoples.
The centenary commemoration also marks 40 years since Fidel’s historic stay in Harare from August 31 to September 7, 1986. He visited Zimbabwe to attend the Eighth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement and to strengthen relations between Cuba and the newly independent nation.
That period helped give rise to significant cooperation programmes, including the training of thousands of Zimbabweans in Cuba.
As part of the centenary celebrations, a commemorative plaque was unveiled in Fidel’s honour. The tribute follows Zimbabwe’s naming of a street after him and the erection of a monument two years earlier—gestures Ambassador Pérez Mesa described as symbols of the historic friendship between the two countries.
She urged those gathered to honour Fidel’s legacy through their daily actions and a continued commitment to justice, peace and international solidarity.
“May this occasion be a meeting among friends—among people who love and celebrate justice, peace and the goodness of humankind, all of which Commander Fidel exemplified as a great teacher,” she said.
The ceremony ended with a rallying cry that has defined Cuba’s revolutionary spirit for generations:
