Guimaraes was decorated lat night in Havana by Cuban Culture Minister Abel Prieto, during a ceremony also attended by the vice president of the Council of Ministers, Jose Ramon Fernandez.

The Council of State declaration sustains that Guimaraes also deserves the medal for "her great affection for Commander in Chief Fidel Castro, and the Cuban Revolution."

Musicians, academicians, artists, and Cuban friends took part in the homage as well.

First Deputy Culture Minister Rafael Bernal affirmed the Brazilian writer and revolutionary is a meeting point between two cultures: Cuba, which has welcomed her, and Brazil, where she faced harassment, a mined field, and underground life.

Visibly overcome by emotion, Guimaras said she could summarize her gratitude in three words: "I love you."

(PL)