“We always return to our home,” reaffirmed Martha Pupo, a direct delegate to the sessions of the 22nd Congress and representative of the workers of the CIGB. Her voice blended with the bustle of the Trabajadores exhibition stand, turned into a meeting point where union memories conversed with the present.
There, among panels and photographs, exchanges unfolded: young delegates discovering the history of the CTC, veterans sharing anecdotes from previous congresses, and personalities such as Isdalis — who was once second-in-command of the CTC — recalling that Cuban trade unionism has been built upon strong shoulders and sensitive hearts.
The stand offered much more than images: newspapers and posters related to union work, notebooks, books by renowned journalists, and other items that are the collective effort to represent the country’s working class. Each object was a tangible testimony of union culture and of the work of those who, from the press, accompany the life of workers.
Sports figures also visited the space, among them Yumisleydis Cumba, Olympic champion in shot put at Athens 2004, adding her presence to the mosaic of voices and faces that make the Congress a plural place.
The visit of this athlete reinforced the idea that the labor movement is not limited to factories and workshops, but extends throughout the nation, linking work, culture, and sport as expressions of shared identity.
