Fidel Castro's Legacy Continues: UNEAC Opens 'Soldier of Ideas' Poster Exhibition

The state-run Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) unveiled the "Soldier of Ideas" poster exhibition on Thursday at the Villena Hall of its headquarters in Havana. This event, part of the official #ArteFiel campaign, honors the centenary of former dictator Fidel Castro.

This exhibition is a component of the commemorative activities marking the 65th anniversary of "Words to the Intellectuals," a speech delivered by Castro in June 1961 at the National Library José Martí. In it, he established the cultural policy principle: "within the Revolution, everything; against the Revolution, nothing."

National Plastic Arts Award recipient and UNEAC's vice president, Lesbia Vent Dumois, delivered the opening remarks. She recalled a quote from Castro's 1961 speech, addressing those who were then concerned with creative freedom: "Only those who distrust their own art and creative abilities truly worry about this issue." History has shown how prescient were the artists who feared the revolutionary wave.

Vent Dumois drew a direct connection between the Revolution's triumph and the rise of Cuban graphic design, claiming that this process "brought profound changes to the country, sparking a commitment to the social environment and fostering a special sensitivity to collective participation."

She also highlighted the role of poster artists working for organizations like the CTC, FAR, CDR, and DOR, explaining the exhibition's purpose: "With this exhibition, we aim to evoke those times, allowing Fidel, 'the soldier of ideas,' to guide us in appreciating and enjoying it."

The day continued with a lecture by Abel Prieto, president of Casa de las Américas and former Minister of Culture, who reviewed the late dictator's relationship with UNEAC and Cuban intellectuals from 1961 to his death, emphasizing "the relevance of his thought," according to the organization.

Miguel Barnet, UNEAC's Honorary President, reminisced about Castro's presence at the organization's congresses and highlighted the depth of the Cuban leader's Marxist ideology.

The event was attended by representatives from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, officials from the Ministry of Culture, and UNEAC president Marta Bonet, leading a delegation of directors and members. The day concluded with a concert by Camerata Cortés, conducted by Orlando Valle "Maraca."

This exhibition is part of a propaganda machine activated by the regime since last year, celebrating Castro's centenary with the publication of 23 volumes of his Selected Works, public events, and digital campaigns. In April, President Miguel Díaz-Canel opened another exhibition of the campaign at the José Martí Memorial, titled "The Song of the Homeland is Our Song," featuring 30 visual works.

The year 2026 has been officially declared "Year of the Centenary of the Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz," whose birthday is August 13. UNEAC's repeated glorification acts of Fidel persist even as Cuba collapses, with Vent Dumois leading another similar event in April amid the crisis.

Against this backdrop of official pageantry is a Cuba enduring its worst humanitarian crisis in decades. The United Nations deemed the island's situation a "humanitarian collapse" in May: power outages lasting 20 to 40 hours daily, severe food and medicine shortages, and over 100,000 patients—11,000 of them children—await surgeries delayed due to lack of power and medical supplies. The infant mortality rate has doubled to 9.9 per 1,000 births amid the current crisis.

While the regime's cultural apparatus dedicates resources and space to idolizing the founder of the dictatorship, millions of Cubans face a collapse resulting directly from 67 years of a communist system. The "Soldier of Ideas" exhibition, with its revolutionary posters displayed in Villena Hall, starkly illustrates the gap between the official narrative and the reality experienced by the Cuban people.