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In 2000, David Rodriguez Fernandez and Amparo Arocas Iranzo, originally from Valencia, Spain, visited Cuba for the first time as members of a brigade in solidarity with our country. After 14 years, they say with satisfaction that just twice they did not come to Cuba, because they decided to directly see the processes going on in Bolivia and Venezuela.
David stressed those trips to Cuba had not only allowed them get experiences, always linked to the work in solidarity, but also share with Cubans, establish contacts and elaborate ideas to support Cuba in Valencia.
They are both militants from the Left Union; David is the head of the Valencian Association of Friendship with Cuba, Jose Marti from which Amparo is the treasurer. This association was founded in 1987 and since then, it has highlighted for its solidarity gestures and collaboration with Cuba, among them developing projects, donations of materials, and brotherhood between in the Cuban municipalities with people from Valencia, solidarity brigades to spread our reality in front of the media campaigns that manipulate Cuban reality.
“This time –David said- we have come with a delegation of young Valencians, several ones from Alicante and some comrades from Madrid, who had had the pleasure to join us. Our goal is to participate in voluntary works at the autism school Cheche Alonso, from Plaza municipality and carry out some activities to know the Cuban reality, as well as visiting the collaboration project the brigade has with this municipality, for six years, like the one in San Antonio de los Banos in Artemisa province which has last for 15 years so far.
Cubans deep down in the heart
David and Amparo have come with their two daughters: Haydee, the oldest who is four; and Melba –four months old. As she has to take care of the little girls, we mainly talked to him in this interview. He explained that when they knew they were going to be parents, decided to give them Cuban names to break with long tradition due to the hard influence of the Catholic Church and Franco’s dictatorship, where names where in a strict religious calendar.
“When we knew it was a baby girl, we decided to name her like one of the Moncada Heroines that will give us the opportunity to talk about Cuba, its Revolution, Moncada Assault and the victory of the ideas when we were asked about the name. We chose Haydee, which is not well known in Spain, because we knew about her for the job in Casa de las Americas.
“Besides that, her biography had marked us a lot and we wanted to reflect it in our family. We feel like Cubans deep down in our hearts; people do not belong to where they are born, but where you are done, and we wanted to have this very clear.”
“In the second pregnancy, already knowing it was another baby girl, “we decided the circle will be easily close: Haydee and Melba. We even liked them for their sound and thought this way we will have the two heroines from Moncada in our small house. It is a way to have the presence of Cuba in the family, at home and in the association. We hoped to meet Melba, but she died 15 days before my daughter was born, last march 24. It was not possible, but we have brought them and I believe they are going to be part of Cuba.”
Tender tribute to two heroines
For David and Amparo, the fact to give the names of the two heroines to their two daughters is to show that they have Cuba deep inside, and that their daughters are a demonstration of all they have lived here in Cuba.
“During these 15 years of solidarity links with the Cubans, we have grown a lot as professionals, persons and in solidarity with Cuba. That is why we named our daughters like the Cuban heroines.”
Trabajadores Newspaper had the opportunity to share with our readers this tender gesture and pay tribute to Haydee in her 34th anniversary of her death and Melba who would have celebrated her 93 birthday on July 28.
Acerca del autor
Graduada de Licenciatura en Periodismo, en 1972.
Trabajó en el Centro de Estudios de Historia Militar de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FAR), en el desaparecido periódico Bastión, y como editora en la Casa Editorial Verde Olivo, ambos también de las FAR. Actualmente se desempeña como reportera en el periódico Trabajadores.
Ha publicado varios libros en calidad de autora y otros como coautora.
Especializada en temas de la historia de Cuba y del movimiento sindical cubano.
