Declare Fernando Ortiz's Work Cultural Heritage of the Nation

July 18, 2019

The work of the Cuban sage Fernando Ortiz was declared this Tuesday Cultural Heritage of the Nation, an act that consecrates the commitment of the State and its institutions to its custody, preservation, and in a very special way, its promotion and dissemination among present and future generations.

In a ceremony that took place in the main auditorium of the San Gerónimo University College, in the historic center of Havana, precisely on the 138th anniversary of the birth of the author of Cuban Counterpoint of Tobacco and Sugar, Gladys Collazo, president of the National Council of Cultural Heritage, made the declaration public.

Directly involved with the valuable legacy of the illustrious intellectual are the José Martí National Library, the Institute of Literature and Linguistics, the House of Africa, the National Museum of Music and the Fernando Ortiz Foundation, whose president, the poet and ethnologist Miguel Barnet, drew a vivid portrait of his mentor and qualified his contributions as the most extraordinary in the field of Cuban Social Sciences throughout the twentieth century.

Barnet's dedication to the study and dissemination of Don Fernando's work was exalted by Eusebio Leal, director of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana and host of the event.

Doctor Eduardo Torres-Cuevas also spoke to signify the compass that Ortiz's legacy represents for young scientists and intellectuals, while doctor Nuria Gregori highlighted the work of librarians, technicians and archivists, both at the Institute of Literature and Linguistics and at the National Library, in the care and cataloging of tens of thousands of handwritten and typewritten folios, as well as other important documentary resources, that form part of the Ortizian legacy.