Culver City,
California
x
Todos a la plaza 28 de Spetiembre Con Fidel
Date Made: 1960
Country: Cuba
Materials: paper
Measurements: 39 in x 25 1/2 in; 99.06 cm x 64.77 cm
A poster depicting a close-up photograph of Fidel Castro, published by the Comités de Defensa de la Revolución (CDR) [Committees for the Defense of the Revolution]. The poster invites Cubans to hear Castro make a speech at the Palace of the Revolution on September 28, 1960 after a trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. According to a transcript of the speech, Castro attempted to summarize his experience at the UN Conference, the significance of Cuba’s socialist project, and Cuba’s shift from a colony to a sovereign nation. During the speech, a small bomb was set off in the crowd, but the culprit was captured and Castro continued speaking. He even asserts that, for each bomb such as the one just detonated, Cuba will construct ten schools and arm 1,000 Cuban fighters. Most importantly, during this speech, Castro described a new national security apparatus to be developed, which would become the still-functioning Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR). His vision, as expressed in this speech, was that the fiercest defenders of the Cuban Revolution found in each block, in each neighborhood in Cuba, would collectively organize their communities against the threatening influence of imperialism. An embassy observer estimated that about 75,000 people were present to hear Castro’s speech, and his announcement establishing CDRs. It is possible that this poster was printed by the Commission of Revolutionary Orientation (COR, later known as the Department of Revolutionary Orientation and Editoria Política), the Cuban Communist Party’s official publishing entity, or at least using their resources, as the COR supported several other governmental organizations in this manner.
Accession Number: 2021.013.004