Skip to main content
An architect who is accompanied
17December
Award

An architect who is accompanied

The National Heritage Award for the work of a lifetime, granted with the objective «of recognizing and encourage the work of people who have devoted themselves to the defense and protection of cultural heritage», was given to the architect Omar López Rodríguez, director of the Office of the Curator of the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba, in a ceremony held at the Museum of Decorative Arts and hosted by Alpidio Alonso, Minister of Culture; Gladys Collazo, president of the National Heritage Council; and Nereyda López Labrada, general secretary of the National Union of Workers of Culture.

Lopez Labrada stressed the fact that that recognition is given on the eve of December 14, Day of the Worker of Culture, which this year has a special connotation to celebrate on that date the 90th birthday of the Poet of the Centenary, Raúl Gómez García, and for being imbued in the organization of the twenty-first congress of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba. «That is why -he said- we want to take advantage of this ceremony to present Gladys Collazo with the Raúl Gómez García distinction for his significant achievements in these years of work in the culture sector».

The jury of the 2018 edition of the Cultural Heritage Award was constituted by Eusebio Leal Spengler, historian of the city of Havana, along with Daniel Taboada, José Linares Ferrera, Hirán Millán and Isabel Rigol. Taboada, who was declared National Heritage Award in 2015, read the minutes of the jury and emphasized that Omar López Rodríguez stands out «for the rescue of the values ​​of his city for more than thirty-five years, carefully attending sites of the world heritage. It has also been notable its role in confronting the frequent natural disasters in the area and the subsequent recovery of the damage. He has a multifaceted career as a leader, professional, educator, manager and promoter of heritage conservation, both architecturally and urbanlly and territorially, doing research and publishing them. His daily work has received recognition in Cuba and abroad. The jury considers relevant the activity that develops with remarkable commitment to conservation that currently promotes the direction of the country in relation to the homeland history.

 

Omar López receives the award from Alpidio Alonso, Minister of Culture of Cuba
Omar López receives the award from Alpidio Alonso, Minister of Culture of Cuba

 

«I ask permission -Santiago's conservative expressed excitedly- for a few words that lighten my pride for the Prize, and to show that I could achieve it just by knowing how to be accompanied, by having the family that I have, by knowing how to choose my friends, for the good luck that I had excellent teachers, for the reality of sharing every moment of the Revolution and its top leaders, always from the perspective of achieving the preservation of the historic city of Santiago de Cuba. I never wanted to go further. I appreciated the depth of what Guillen said that the more Cuban you are, the more universal you will be, and I applied it to my homeland, Santiago, with obsession and devotion ».

Later he insisted on thanking his family and friends: «I take this opportunity to thank my family. To my parents and siblings, wherever they are they deserve everything. My wife, whom I met since I was 14 years old and since then has known how to stimulate my advances, love me a lot, endure my obsessions and manias, accompany my sorrows and give me a beautiful family of two daughters, two granddaughters and a great grandchild. All together are my continuous inspiration. I also owe a lot to my friends, few and good friends who always help me to follow, support me with ideas and actions and believe in me. Thank you, brothers, for being. For me there is only the gratitude and commitment to continue in the battle of conservation.