Antonio Guerrero paints José Martí

EDUARDO PALOMARES CALDERÓN

SANTIAGO DE CUBA.— The painting exposition entitled El verdadero hombre, (The Real Man) dedicated to Cuba’s national hero José Martí, by Antonio Guerrero, himself a decorated Hero of the Republic, began its tour of the island in the historic Moncada Garrison on March 19.

The exhibit, inaugurated in Havana, includes eight portraits of Martí crafted using a crayon and pastel technique by the Cuban patriot unjustly imprisoned in the United States for his anti-terrorist activities.

Antonio drew the portraits, which were commissioned by the Union of Young Communists (UJC), depicting José Martí at various stages of his life, using images sent to the federal prison in Marianna, Florida where he is being held.

Antonio Guerrero Cabrera presented his father’s work at the 26th of July Movement Museum and described the site as the best place to present this exhibit in the names of all the Cuban Five, including Gerardo, Fernando, Ramón and René, also incarcerated in the United States.

In his comments presenting the exposition, the younger Tony reiterated that Martí was the guiding light of the assault on the Moncada Garrison in 1953, and is the guiding light of Cuba’s struggle for full independence and the Revolution led by Fidel and Raúl.

He said that the paintings show how neither his father’s mind or soul can be imprisoned. They are free, he affirmed, leading the struggle to return the Five to their homeland. In the names of all family members, he once again thanked the Cuban people, and thousands of friends around the world, for their support.

Lázaro Expósito, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in the province, and Reinaldo García Zapata, President of the Provincial Assembly of People’s Power visited the exposition in Santiago to admire the portraits, which local UJC Secretary Jorge Suárez Pérez reported will be displayed in other provincial capitals.

GRANMA