By Syara S. Massip and Yaimi Ravelo on April 17, 2026 from Havana
Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel visits the Resumen Latinoamerica booth at the Patria International Colloquium.
On a morning steeped in symbolism and critical thought, the fifth edition of the Patria International Colloquium was officially inaugurated at the Línea y 18 Cultural Center in El Vedado. The event, which will run through Saturday, April 18, pays tribute to the centenary of the birth of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz under the slogan “Patria with Fidel.”
The President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, attended the opening ceremony, where he toured the exhibition area and spoke with representatives of the international media in attendance. Díaz-Canel’s presence underscores the strategic importance the Cuban government attaches to this forum in the context of the intensifying economic blockade, disinformation campaigns, and threats against the island’s peace and sovereignty.
With the participation of more than a hundred foreign guests, including academics, journalists, activists, and representatives of alternative media, the event reaffirms itself as a space for thought, exchange, and action on contemporary digital communication from an emancipatory and counter-hegemonic perspective.
At the event’s opening, Ricardo Ronquillo Bello, president of the Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC), underscored the importance of maintaining this forum in the face of the escalating hostility of U.S. imperialism, which has intensified the economic blockade against the island.
Resumen Latinoamericano and Casa de las Américas booth
The Colloquium, which stands as a space for dialogue, resistance, and coordination between Cuban media and like-minded publications around the world, aims to contribute to “Cuba’s communicational invulnerability” (…) “We want to turn the Patria Colloquium into the country’s communications-based Girón,” Ronquillo stated, alluding to the 65th anniversary of the victory at Playa Girón, and calling for a counter to hegemonic narratives and neo-fascist threats that seek to destabilize the peoples of the Global South.
As a new feature, the Colloquium will combine in-person panels with seven virtual training workshops, a measure implemented to navigate the complex energy and fuel crisis affecting the country, thereby ensuring the participation of communicators from all Cuban provinces.
During the event, the permanent headquarters of the Patria project will also be inaugurated, located in the former Accreditation Center of the Cuban News Agency in El Vedado.
The event also includes side activities such as book presentations, film screenings, and workshops for children and adolescents.
The 5th International “Patria” Colloquium thus reaffirms its aspiration to establish itself as an international hub for the convergence of critical thinking, technological innovation, and communicational practice, with Cuba as the epicenter of a global debate.
Resumen Latinoamericano and Casa de las Américas booth
Graciela Ramirez; editor of Resumen Latinoamericano – Havana
In this fifth edition of the “Patria” International Colloquium, the Resumen Latinoamericano bureau in Cuba had the honor of sharing a booth with Casa de las Américas, a leading institution of Latin American culture and intellectualism.
We share with our readers images of our space, our team’s meeting with President Miguel Díaz-Canel, and the joy of the embrace. The graphic denunciations displayed on the walls of the exhibition area—through these photos, we condemn from our media outlet the crimes taking place today: the murder of journalists and photojournalists reporting on the genocide in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, and the children killed by U.S. bombs in Iran. We pay tribute to the 32 Cubans who gave their lives in defense of Venezuela’s sovereignty and its president. The reprint of the front pages of the newspaper Revolución from April 1961 is our tribute to the Declaration of the Socialist Character of the Cuban Revolution, to the Victory at Girón, and to the Hundred Years of Humanity with Fidel.
Source: Cuba en Resumen