Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – The Cuban Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City on January 27 solemnly held a ceremony to inaugurate a bust of Cuban national hero José Martí in its campus, marking the 173rd anniversary of his birth (January 28, 1853 – 2026).
Sculpted from white marble, the statue stands 65 cm high atop a 140 cm dark granite pedestal.
Speaking at the event, Nguyen Manh Cuong, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, emphasised that the inauguration of the bust statue of José Martí - Cuba’s national hero and a great thinker - was an event of profound humanitarian significance and deep friendship between Vietnam and Cuba.
This is the first statue of a Cuban historical figure erected in Ho Chi Minh City, honouring the life and great legacy of José Martí - a national hero of Cuba and an outstanding cultural figure, serving as vivid and meaningful proof of the enduring traditional friendship between the Vietnamese and Cuban people, he noted.
According to him, the bust not only commemorates a great personality and intellect of Cuba, but also represents a heartfelt tribute to a pioneering messenger who sowed the very first seeds of the loyal and enduring friendship between Vietnam and Cuba. José Martí laid the foundation for the special relationship that generations of leaders and people of both countries have continued to inherit, preserve, and nurture as a valuable shared legacy.
Speaking at the ceremony, Ariadne Feo Labrada, Consul General of Cuba in Ho Chi Minh City, said that during the most challenging moments, the life and legacy of national hero José Martí have been a great source of inspiration for the Cuban people. One of Martí’s most outstanding disciples was Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro, who led the Cuban Revolution under Martí’s ideals of national independence and social justice.
She noted that José Martí was the first Cuban to introduce the Cuban people to Vietnam through his writings vividly describing the creativity, culture, and heroic history of the Vietnamese people, from the Trung Sisters’ uprising to the struggle against French colonialism.
The diplomat expressed her sincere gratitude to the People’s Security University and the Ho Chi Minh City University of Fine Arts for their support in completing this meaningful sculpture. She expressed confidence that the statue of José Martí would further enrich Vietnamese people’s understanding of Cuba, especially among younger generations, and contribute to strengthening the special friendship between the two countries./.
