Cuba and Argentine were among a number of countries celebrating Vietnam ’s founding President Ho Chi Minh’s 121 st birth anniversary on May 19.

At a meeting held by the Cuban Institute for Friendship with Other Nations in Guantanamo province on May 19, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Vu Chi Cong highlighted the ideology of national independence shared by Ho Chi Minh and Cuba ’s national hero Jose Marti.

The two great men shared another thing in fate – May 19, when Vietnamese people celebrate President Ho’s birth anniversary, is also the day Cuba commemorates the death of its national hero, Jose Marti. This year is the 116 th anniversary of Marti’s death.

Traditional friendship and cooperation over the half century were highlighted in Cong’s speech. He quoted Cuba ’s revolutionary leader Fidel Castro as saying, “For Vietnam, Cuba is ready to donate its blood”, to illustrate such special relations.

Cong reiterated Vietnam ’s unswerving support for Cuba in demanding the US lift its embargo against the island country and release five Cuban independence fighters now in US custody.

On May 18, in celebration of Ho Chi Minh’s birthday, the Vietnamese ambassador attended a meeting at a school for disabled children named after a Vietnamese military heroine, Le Thi Rieng, in Holguin province.

Cuban television also ran a 15-minute programme on Vietnam , especially its achievements in renewal. The film covered Vietnam ’s long history of struggle against foreign aggression, from the war of resistance against French colonialists to the anti-US war, a struggle that ended with Vietnam ’s Dien Bien Phu victory in 1954 and the southern liberation in 1975. The footage spotlighted an event of the moment on September 2, 1945 when President Ho declared national independence and the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

In Buenos Aires , Argentine, on May 19, the Vietnamese embassy and Equilibrium Media Company co-sponsored a screening of the documentary, “Ho Chi Minh: A national hero, a cultural celebrity” and the film, “Don’t burn” directed by Dang Nhat Minh.

Many viewers cried as they watched the story of the Vietnamese leader’s revolutionary life, and understood Vietnamese people’s love and passion for Uncle Ho as well as the hardships and heroism of the Vietnamese people in the struggle for national independence in the film “Don’t burn”.

Some said they wanted to see more films on Vietnam to better understand the heroic and hardworking nation./.