Always with Haydee

July 28 marks the fortieth anniversary of the death of Haydee Santamaría. As is well known, the heroine of the Moncada attack, the Sierra Maestra, the underground resistance, and exile, was also the founder of Casa de las Américas, a cultural institution she presided over for twenty years and for which she defined a mission and a work style that still underpin the daily work of its employees.

Founded in April 1959, Casa de las Américas quickly took on tasks related to the dissemination of the arts and literature of the continent. It created awards, published books and magazines, organized exhibitions, festivals and concerts, invited established and emerging artists, and cultivated an audience—readers and spectators—for Latin American and Caribbean creative work, both in Cuba and beyond.

It's difficult to walk through the offices and hallways of the unique building at 3rd and G Streets in Vedado without noticing the presence of its founder. Everything in the House seems to evoke her, in part because those who knew her and learned from her—some of whom still work at the institution—have passed on her legacy from generation to generation. We must hold fast to it and imagine Haydee here, questioning, debating, charting the course. As always, very close to young people, taking risks, fighting tirelessly and resolutely for the noblest causes, always on the side of the most humble.

It is extraordinary that, in the midst of the very upheaval caused by the multiple transformations that the Revolution set in motion, that combatant, committed to social justice, involved on multiple fronts and with countless tasks, dedicated herself fully to thinking about cultural issues, to communicating with intellectuals from the most diverse backgrounds, to imagining the best way to achieve the meeting of one and the other.

Someone might think there were two women in one. On one side, the fighter, the guerrilla, and on the other, the dreamer, capable of being moved by a song or a painting. But they are wrong. There are not two Haydees. There is only one: at once strong and tender, impetuous and sensitive, always fair and faithful to her principles, to Fidel's leadership, to the memory of the martyrs—Abel, Boris, Che—and to the ideas of Bolívar and Martí, from whom she learned, almost as a child, that "homeland is humanity." 

Remembering her today is a way to ensure that her work is not forgotten. We have a responsibility to uphold her legacy and help younger generations become familiar with her ideas, expressed in talks, letters, public speeches, and interviews (which will soon be compiled into a single volume). We know, however, that the best tribute will be our daily work and our commitment to continue weaving together, through culture, the integration of the peoples of our America.

 House of the Americas
Havana Cuba

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