During the visit to Cuba in September at thee invitation of the Cuban Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces, a delegation of high-ranking officials of the Vietnam People's Army was also received by Architect Joel Díaz Gutiérrez, who was in charge of designing and supervising the construction of the Monument, and had a friendly conversation about the process of researching and designing the President Ho Chi Minh Monument campus in La Habana, Cuba.
Overview of the President Ho Chi Minh Monument in La Habana, Cuba (Photo: bqllang.gov.vn)
Architect Joel is now over 90 years old. Throughout his life, this is the project that he is most proud of and honored to work on. Mr. Joel has devoted most of his life to fostering the Cuba - Vietnam friendship and greatly admires the beloved President Ho Chi Minh. Mr. Joel recalls that when he first started designing the monument, he spent many nights struggling to find the most vivid way to express the image of Vietnam, the extremely great but very simple and humble person of President Ho Chi Minh, and the important milestones in his life.
Architect Joel researched a lot of documents about Uncle Ho before coming up with the idea. Each component and detail of the Monument was designed with immense love and respect for great President Ho Chi Minh.
"In Cuba, there are hundreds of monuments of historical figures, including foreigners, but for President Ho Chi Minh, there needs to be a completely different expression," said Architect Joel.
The Ho Chi Minh Monument Park is located along the largest streets in the capital of Havana, covering an area of 5,600 square meters. The Ho Chi Minh Monument is located on a red marble base, 54 square meters wide, symbolizing the 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam. In the middle of the red marble base is a five-pointed star made of yellow flowers - the image of the Vietnamese national flag. The stone pedestal is made of white marble without any decoration or motifs, which is reminiscent of the image of Uncle Ho with a life of purity.
The protective frame above, consisting of four red painted iron bars standing out against the green trees of the park, is connected to form a pyramid symbolizing the Vietnamese conical hat. Of the four iron bars, three bars symbolize the three predecessor organizations of the Communist Party of Vietnam, including the Indochinese Communist Party, the Annam Communist Party and the Indochinese Communist Federation; the remaining bar symbolizes the Communist International.
The convergence point right at the top of the Monument is to honor President Ho Chi Minh in uniting revolutionary forces to work towards the common goal of national liberation. The thick bamboo grove behind the monument is to create a landscape similar to Vietnam. This is the bamboo species chosen in Cuba. The towering ancient trees behind were designed by the Architect to remind us of the mountains and forests of the Viet Bac and Dien Bien Phu War Zones, where President Ho Chi Minh lived, led and directed the Vietnamese revolution from the early difficult days.
The President Ho Chi Minh Monument in the capital city of Havana is also a close collaboration between artisans and architects from Vietnam and Cuba; the bronze bust was cast by Vietnamese artisans. During his official visit to Cuba in October 2002, late Prime Minister Phan Van Khai presented the bronze bust of President Ho Chi Minh to Cuban friends to place in the Monument Park. The construction was then completed on the occasion of the 113th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh (May 19, 2003).
After the project was inaugurated, a branch of the Cuba - Vietnam Friendship Association, with members being officials, employees of some production facilities and people in the neighborhood where Ho Chi Minh Park is located, was established to take care of, preserve and protect the President Ho Chi Minh Monument.
Over the past 20 years, the branch has welcomed hundreds of official delegations from Vietnam to lay flowers at the Uncle Ho Monument, including high-ranking delegations of the Party and State of Vietnam when visiting Cuba. This project has also been visited by many other foreign delegations, expressing their respect to the beloved leader of the heroic Vietnamese people.
The Ho Chi Minh Monument Park in the capital of Havana has become a familiar space, a unique "Vietnamese corner" of the Cuban people - this is also a noble symbol of the loyal friendship between Vietnam and Cuba that has been tested throughout the history of the two peoples./.
BTA