Presented at El Libro del Mes "Canción antigua a Che Guevara"

September 27, 2018

On the morning of September 25th, the lyrical text Canción antigua a Che Guevara by the notable Cuban intellectual Mirta Aguirre, dedicated to the immortal Heroic Guerrilla fighter, was presented in the space El libro del Mes.

This poem published as a book has been published by Editorial Gente Nueva and was presented by general and writer Enrique Acevedo, and by journalist and literary critic Fernando Rodríguez Sosa at the headquarters of the Instituto Cubano del Libro, the institution that organizes this event.

The literary celebration began with a recording of the poem presented in the voice of its author, Dr. Mirta Aguirre (Havana, 1912-1980), who wrote it as part of her book Juegos y otros poemas (1974), for children and young people.

Rodríguez Sosa provided a broad explanation about the significance of this poem, one of the most moving in Hispanic American letters, inspired by the figure of Commander Guevara.

The specialist recalled that it is a composition written in ten-syllable verses with great epic spirit, characteristic of the chansons de geste of universal cultural history, and highlighted its values based on the study of it conducted by fellow Cuban poet Fina García Murruz, who affirms that there is much of a children's chant in this poem, which constitutes one of its most evident charms due to its effectiveness in communicating with its young intended audience.

Rodríguez Sosa also cited the outstanding Cuban writer Virgilio López Lemus, in whose opinion this is a masterful poem, and added that in it one always finds new lessons and teachings; "it is a text in which the figure of the hero Ernesto Che Guevara is humanized."

He also traced a path through the life and prolific work of the teacher, essayist, literary critic and poet, who from a very young age followed a leftist tendency in her ideology and was a member of the Partido Socialista Popular and had very active involvement in the Sociedad Cultural Nuestro Tiempo and as a journalist at the newspaper Hoy.

He also highlighted her role as founder of the Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba and her extensive and recognized career as a professor at the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the Universidad de La Habana and as an essayist in the deep study of Cuban and universal literature.

For his part, General Acevedo shared with the attending public, mostly students from the primary schools José Martí, Camilo Cienfuegos and René Salas in Havana Vieja, his memories of the moment he met Che in the Sierra Maestra, where he went with his brother at only 14 years old.

He also narrated other anecdotes related to the Heroic Guerrilla fighter during his time in the column that he commanded and in the battalion of "Los descamisados" to which the Che sent them upon his arrival and in which all those who had some problem with discipline, conduct or attitude remained.

Regarding his first impressions of him, he said: "He still maintained his Argentine accent when speaking; very deliberate but despite that we realized right away that he was a man who commanded, who had authority, who was respected. He was just, he was demanding, but he didn't demand anything that he didn't do himself first."

He emphasized, in his exchange with those present, the reading habits that Che possessed; "I admired in him that whenever he had an opportunity he would pull a book from his backpack and start reading. I had absolutely nothing to read in the Sierra but I was never able to approach him to ask him for a book."

In his remarks, he asserted:

"Everyone is racking their brains trying to understand how a man who never was a soldier, who never attended a military academy could plan and carry out that lightning operation that allowed us to take Fomentos, Cabaiguán, Guayo, Remedios, Caibarién, Placetas, Santo Domingo in just three weeks and when we came to see Santa Clara it was already surrounded…"

A fact that greatly caught the attention of those present was that associated with the way Che found to encourage the thirty-seven illiterate members of his column to read and write, for which he told them —according to what General Acevedo recounted— that until they learned well they would remain as "little soldiers." So he created a school for them and there each afternoon they learned to read and write and then Che promoted them to sergeants.

At the end of his recollections, the general declared: "Che was always a visionary, a builder of cadres, a man of far-reaching light. I regret not having been a bit older to have been able to get closer to him."

The Guitar Orchestra Clave de Sol, made up of teenagers, participated in this presentation with the performance of several anthological numbers from our traditional popular song repertoire.

On this occasion, specialists from Cubaliteraria were also present, who made it possible for those interested to obtain the mobile application of this book, an alternative that has accompanied the Libro del Mes since its opening in June.

Editorial Gente Nueva has planned a program of presentations of the book Canción antigua a Che Guevara, which will take place in schools in the community near that publishing house throughout the month of October, thereby paying tribute to the fall in combat of the Heroic Guerrilla fighter.