SOYINKA HONOURED BY CUBAN PRESIDENT
On August 23, in faraway Havana, Cuba, the venerable Nigerian writer and winner of Nobel Prize in Literature, Prof. Wole Soyinka, received at Casa de las Americas, the Haydee Santamaria Medal, awarded by Miguel Diaz- Canel, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, on behalf of Cuba and at the proposal of the Minister of Culture.
As reported by the Presidency on X, Jorge Fornet, direc-tor of the Centre for Literary Research of Casa de las Americas, in his remarks of praise, said, “awarding Soyinka the medal that bears the name of that extraordinary woman is an act of justice that honors us.”
After the ceremony, Diaz-Canel held a meeting with Soyinka, where he thanked him for his visit in such a complex moment for Cuba.
“It is the visit of a brother who has always been fighting for the most just causes,” the president noted.
The Haydee Santamaria Medal is conferred on national and foreign citizens and groups, who, over the years, have shared the main objectives of the Casa: the enrich- ment, defense and integration of the gen- uine cultures of our region and the entire South.
This event also celebrates Soyinka’s 90th birthday and the 60th anniversary of his first visit to Cuba, where he has returned on several occasions.
The Nobel Laureate in Literature, who dur- ing the meeting, had stated that “Cuba is also my home”, equally referred to the strong ties that unite the island and Africa.
He was also awarded Cuba’s Union of Writers and Artists’s international prize. The 63rd anniversary of the union coincided with presentation of organisa- tion’s Dulce María Loynaz International Prize to the Nigerian poet, Soyinka, who, on receiving the prize from the president of Uneac, Marta
Bonet, expressed his happiness and also his heart at being back in the bosom of a creative family.
The Nobel Laureate confessed to having had great political and cultural adventures in Cuba, recognising the indispensable role played by the Antillean nation in the liberation of the African continent, something that, according to the critic and essayist, “we must not allow ourselves to forget, because Cuba has shown that both the pen and the weapons of libera- tion count in achieving the sovereignty and self-determination of our peoples.”
Shortly before the award ceremony, theatre critic and theorist Omar Valiño described Soyinka in his eulogy as a ‘consistent man’, highlighting the sincerity and intelligence of his work, which draws on the ancestral wisdom of Yoruba culture.
The director of the José Martí National Library of Cuba, in a cultural ceremony in front of writ- ers and artists, recalled the words of the Nigerian poet when he said that “as is well known, Cuba is part of the African continent by will, not by chance,” so his vision – he said – adjusts a geography beyond the physical space, synthesising the centuries-old relationship between Mother Africa and the Caribbean island.
“His phrase, like no other, sums up the bond of solidarity and detachment that Fidel and the Revolution have maintained for the benefit of the black continent, through a military, med- ical and educational epic that has gone down in history.”
Soyinka’s political or civil struggles, which once cost him persecution or imprisonment, are a landmark for present and future genera- tions, so, it is a priceless privilege to have him among Cubans and Africans today.
Culled from Guardian nes paper . 31/08/24
