Graziella Pogolotti, an Unquestionable Cuban

Cuban critic, essayist Graziella Pogolotti reaffirmed her unquestionable, intact Cuban identity despite her European origin and her early years there.

I didn't know Cuba until I was seven years old, but the everyday life and experiences were crucial in forming my identity, she said in a meeting with the public at Pabellon Cuba exhibit center.

She referred to the influence of her father, painter Marcelo Pogolotti, and other intellectuals who visited her home every day.

"Figures of the intellectual vanguard of the time frequented my house, including painters Victor Manuel and Carlos Enrique, as well as writer Lino Novas Calvo and politician Raul Roa, among others," recalled the Paris born writer (1932).

Answering a question about her first steps in the art world, Pogolotti recalled that when she was a child, a book shelf fell near her and she was immediately surrounded by everyone in the house, "a premonition of the fate held in store for me," she said.

On national culture and the way it is currently assumed by young people, Pogolotti highlighted the need to discuss the link between the concept of culture and nation.

"Cuban culture is a thread of continuity, and, fortunately, there is still a long way to go," she concluded.