Cuban musicians and vocalist perform for the audience.

HAVANA, Cuba—For decades, Cuba has gifted the world with medicine, music, and, when needed, military support in fights for freedom. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuba sent nearly 1,000 doctors to 40 countries across five continents. The country’s music has entertained with its West African and European influences.

When Africa calls, Cuba responds

Since the 1970s, African independence movements have received essential military support from Cuba. This support was pivotal in fighting South African apartheid, countering covert U.S. operations, and securing independence in southern Africa.

In the 1970s, the region’s prospects were bleak. Portugal controlled Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau. After Portuguese rule ended, the U.S. allied with South Africa to suppress Angolan rebels. Apartheid persisted in South Africa and extended to Namibia until Cuba deployed forces.

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Kathryn Hall-Trujillo, administrator of the U.S.
Cuba Medical School Scholarship Program.
Photos: Michael Spencer

“Cuba’s contributions to Africa go back to the Congo. They were unsuccessful but determined to help with the liberation of the Congo, particularly after the assassination of Patrice Lumumba (the first prime minister of Congo). While unsuccessful, it showed the spirit of what role Cuba wanted to play,” Omowale Clay of the December 12th Movement told The Final Call.

“The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in Angola (1988) was probably one of the most important battles in the history of the African continent because it was key to the liberation of Namibia, Angola, and South Africa. The Cubans paid a tremendous price there, by sending 80,000 troops there.”

Acclaimed actor Danny Glover recalled to The Final Call an important moment when Cuba’s Fidel Castro attended South Africa’s inauguration of Nelson Mandela. “I had worked in the anti-apartheid movement and was backstage preparing to introduce people.

Fidel approaches Mandela to shake his hand. Mandela pushed his hand away and hugged him. I heard the words distinctly, ‘This day doesn’t happen without you,’”

Mr. Glover said, recalling what he heard Mr. Mandela say to Comandante Castro. “I never forget that understanding from Mandela. ‘This moment doesn’t happen without you,’” said Mr. Glover.

Cuba’s musical revolution

“I think music is the greatest gift Cuba has given to the world,” Luci Murphy, a Washington, D.C.-based performer and activist, told The Final Call. “If you listen to music in Cuba, it’s students, professionals, semiprofessionals, and amateurs.

Second-year medical student In´Rfam Abou
Bakary from Benin, in middle, speaks at the
recent International Decade for People of
African Descent conference.

It’s fabulous. They still have large groups of people playing together, which we have lost in the United States because we can’t afford it. Musicians can’t afford the time to rehearse.

The theaters and venues don’t pay enough to support a large group. The United States, and other countries, do not support jazz orchestras or orchestras of traditional music,” she said.

Music surrounds life in Cuba. From coast to coast, dance floors and communities are energized by a diverse range of musical styles, including salsa, rumba, jazz, and reggae, as well as the contemporary beats of Timba. Historical Cuban musicians include Celia Cruz, Nicolas Guillen, and Sara Gomez. Contemporary artists include Ibeyi, Yosvanny Terry, and Dayme Arocena.

Doctors for humanity

For over 60 years, Cuba has deployed medical teams, known as “armies of white robes,” to aid global crises, particularly in developing nations. After a severe earthquake in Chile, Cuban medical professionals were sent to help. Following Algerian independence, Havana sent healthcare workers to help establish the country’s medical infrastructure.

In the 2010s, Cuban doctors were pivotal in addressing cholera in Haiti and the Ebola crisis in West Africa. During the severe COVID-19 outbreak in Lombardy, Italy, Cuba responded by dispatching medical teams. Additionally, Cuba sent physicians to countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Grenada.

In addition to sending doctors around the world, Cuba also trains doctors from around the world with its free medical school. “The value of the medical school is that it’s an opportunity for the United States to have more doctors,” Kathryn Hall-Trujillo, the administrator of the U.S. Cuba Medical School Scholarship Program, told The Final Call.

“The extra value is that it gives the United States an opportunity to have doctors that were trained in a global community that understands that there’s a world bigger than the United States. They are part of it and they have to learn how to be a part of that world that is bigger than the United States.”

Cuban medical institutions have awarded degrees in health-related fields to 35,787 graduates from 141 countries, mainly in Africa and Latin America.

Over 4,000 Cuban healthcare professionals are currently deployed in 32 African countries, addressing diseases like Ebola, cholera, tuberculosis, AIDS, and malaria. These physicians are noted for their focus on preventive healthcare and their commitment to disease prevention.

“We are trained to be community doctors,” second-year medical student In´Rfam Abou Bakary from Benin told the audience at the International Decade for People of African Descent conference held in Cuba in December 2024. “We are aware of the needs of our communities;

This helps us decide what to specialize in. At the medical school, we have a vision, a community approach. We are not training to be doctors to make money. We are training to become doctors with the obligation to serve our community.”

This is an installment in a series of articles by The Final Call from Cuba while covering the International Decade for People of African Descent conference, Cuba and the Cuban people.