Iconic Cuban revolutionary folk singer Silvio Rodríguez given AKM combat rifle

Images via X and the Communist Party of Cuba

On March 20, Silvio Rodríguez, Cuba’s iconic revolutionary folk singer, received an AKM combat rifle during a formal event hosted by the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (Minfar), as part of the nation’s “National Defense Day” celebrations. The presentation was framed within Cuba’s concept of the “War of the Entire People" .

The ceremony was attended by the President of the National Defense Council and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez; as well as members of the Political Bureau, Army Corps General Álvaro López Miera, the Minister of the Interior and Army Corps General Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas, and Army Corps General Roberto Legrá Sotolongo, First Deputy Minister of the FAR Chief of the General Staff.

Rodríguez’s gift followed his social media comments expressing readiness to defend Cuba in the event of foreign aggression, particularly involving the United States, even at the age of 79 years old.

Rodríguez has long been a public cultural icon in Cuba, with music known for intertwining political and social commentary.

At the event Major General Víctor Leonardo Rojo Ramos - a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and head of the Political Directorate of the FAR - said: "Today, Silvio Rodríguez, the singer-songwriter of the Revolution, does not give us a new song: he gives us an act of deep, infinite love for his land"