Exhibition 'Loyalty and Love': Journey of 65 years of steadfast Vietnam-Cuba relations

On the morning of December 5, at the Vietnam Women's Museum, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Museum, the Vietnam Women's Museum, the Cuban Embassy in Vietnam, the "Forever 20" Club, and Media 21 Company Limited jointly organized the exhibition "Loyalty and Love".

This is an activity in a series of events to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Cuba diplomatic relations (December 2, 1960 - December 2, 2025), the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Year, the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam National United Front - Traditional Day of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (November 18, 1930 - November 18, 2025); the 81st anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's Army (December 22, 1944 - December 22, 2025) and the 36th anniversary of the National Defense Day (December 22, 1989 - December 22, 2025).

Attending the event were Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet, Director of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Museum and the Vietnam Women's Museum; Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa, former member of the Party Central Committee, former President of the Vietnam Women's Union, President of the Vietnam Children's Rights Protection Council; Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son, Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture and Education ; leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and representatives of funds, clubs and social organizations; Mr. Rogelio Polanco Fuentes, Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam; along with Ambassadors and representatives of international organizations in Vietnam; former Vietnamese students in Cuba; teachers and students of the Vietnam-Cuba Primary School and Trung Vuong Secondary School.

Director of the Vietnam Women's Museum Nguyen Thi Tuyet delivered the opening speech at the ceremony. (Source: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism )

In her opening speech, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet, Director of the Vietnam Women's Museum, emphasized that the exhibition was held in a solemn and sacred space, where the memories and heritage of generations of Vietnamese women are preserved, founded by female general Nguyen Thi Dinh.

“Over the years, the Vietnam Women's Museum has not only been a place to preserve the memories and heritage of generations of Vietnamese women, but also a cultural bridge, a place where the values ​​of international solidarity, solidarity and revolutionary traditions of the nation are connected and spread,” she said.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet said that the exhibition is a journey of the heart, each staff member of the Museum has put a lot of effort into making it happen. The process of making the exhibition also contains sincere emotions when coming into contact with documents, images, stories and artifacts about the Vietnam-Cuba friendship.

The Director of the Vietnam Women's Museum emphasized that the exhibition wishes to recount in a simple but profound way the 65-year journey of the friendship between the two brotherly nations. Accordingly, "loyal love" is not only found in major diplomatic events recorded in history, but also present in very ordinary stories, through each photo and each souvenir preserved for decades.

Referring to the verses of poet To Huu when he first set foot in Cuba: “I write to you, from this island/Cuba, the island of Fire, the island of Drunkenness/Here, I am truly drunk, drunk with heaven and earth/The ocean waves are drunk with honey wine, drunk”, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet affirmed that this is also the spirit that the Museum wishes to convey: The Vietnam-Cuba friendship will continue to be written by today's and future generations.

Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Rogelio Polanco Fuentes said the exhibition is part of a series of diverse activities taking place during the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Year. (Source: Organizing Committee)

For his part, Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Rogelio Polanco Fuentes pointed out that today's exhibition is a profound tribute to the historical relationship between the two peoples - a relationship that has been forged over many generations and always preserved as a priceless treasure, becoming a shining example of international solidarity.

According to the Ambassador, the images, posters and artifacts displayed at the exhibition were carefully selected by experts from the Vietnam Women's Museum and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Museum, aiming to recreate typical milestones in the journey of cultivating Vietnam-Cuba brotherhood.

Particularly emphasizing the role of two typical heroines: Cuban Revolutionary Heroine Melba Hernández, who led the movement to support Vietnam for many years and was the first female Cuban Ambassador in Hanoi; and female General Nguyen Thi Dinh, Deputy Commander of the Liberation Forces of South Vietnam, later President of the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association, the Ambassador affirmed: "The two are living proof of the blood friendship between Vietnam and Cuba".

Delegates performed the opening ceremony of the exhibition "Loyalty and Love". (Source: Organizing Committee)

In particular, Ambassador Fuentes said that the exhibition is part of a series of rich activities taking place during the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Year 2025, a special year marking a series of historical events of the two countries, while witnessing many exchange activities in all fields and new steps in political, economic, social, cultural, trade and investment cooperation.

In addition, the Ambassador was moved to mention the campaign to support the Cuban people launched by the Red Cross and the Vietnam Fatherland Front, which received millions of contributions from the Vietnamese people along with countless emotional messages of sharing.

The loyal and steadfast love between Vietnam and Cuba was further affirmed when the campaign took place in parallel with the call for support for people in flood-affected areas. At that moment, a Vietnamese citizen left a message full of affection: "Half of my heart is with Cuba, the other half is for the people affected by the floods."

Mr. Phung Van Bao was one of the first students sent to Cuba to study livestock farming. When he returned to Vietnam in 1973, he participated in building 10 chicken farms in Ba Vi with the Cuban Construction Corps Le Thi Hong Gam. (Photo: Tien Dat)

Answering a question from a reporter from The World and Vietnam Newspaper about the affection that Cuba has given to Vietnam, Mr. Phung Van Bao, one of the first Vietnamese alumni to study in the Caribbean island nation, could not hide his emotion.

For him, the generation of Vietnamese students studying in Cuba from 1965 to 1973 came out of the bombs and bullets to acquire knowledge, preparing for the task of rebuilding the country after the war. “As Uncle Ho said, after victory, rebuilding is ten times more difficult.”

During that difficult period, Cuba did not hesitate to take care of Vietnamese students from sleep to meal with all its heart. Cuba also helped Vietnam build many important projects such as Ba Vi chicken farm, Thang Loi hotel serving the 6th Party Congress in 1986, Dong Hoi hospital, Soc Son-Xuan Mai strategic road, demonstrating the spirit of "willingness to donate blood" as declared by Leader Fidel Castro in 1966.

Today, with the spirit of gratitude and mutual love, Vietnam is repaying that gratitude with practical actions to help Cuba develop agriculture, increase rice productivity, and ensure food security for 11 million people. The recent campaign to support the Cuban people also received 615 billion VND, ten times the set target, showing the deep affection of the Vietnamese people for the country and people of Cuba.

Therefore, Mr. Phung Van Bao believes that the exhibition "Loyalty and Love" is not only an opportunity to look back at 65 years of special relations between Vietnam and Cuba, but also an opportunity for this friendship to continue to spread to the younger generation, helping the next generation understand the meaning of pure and sustainable international solidarity.

Some other pictures at the event

The exhibition "Loyalty and Love" consists of 4 parts, introducing more than 200 typical images, documents and artifacts, reflecting the general history of the special, comprehensive, united and loyal friendship between Vietnam and Cuba.

At the exhibition, many typical artifacts were introduced to the public for the first time, such as: The banner "A Melba with Fidel always doing revolution with Uncle Ho forever loyal heart" by Ms. Melba Hernández Rodríguez, former Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam, given on the occasion of her 75th birthday, July 28, 1996; propaganda posters by Cuban artists in the 70s of the 20th century, showing the enthusiastic support, solidarity and attachment of the Cuban people to the Vietnamese people...

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/trien-lam-nghia-tinh-thuy-chung-hanh-trinh-65-nam-quan-he-son-sat-viet-nam-cuba-336718.html