Azerbaijani ministry marks November 8 - Victory Day with concert in Cuba

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Culture, in partnership with the Azerbaijani Embassy in Cuba and with support from the Ministry of Culture of Cuba and the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, organized a concert dedicated to November 8 - Victory Day.

Held at the Danza Teatro Retazos theatre in Havana, the event attracted representatives from the Cuban Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture, the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, the diplomatic corps, and embassy employees from Türkiye, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Russia, Georgia, Chile, Venezuela, Grenada, and Niger, along with local community members and other guests, Caliber.Az reports.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Cuba, Ruslan Rzayev, addressed attendees, highlighting Azerbaijan's rich cultural heritage, particularly the significance of mugham and national dances. He noted that mugham holds a special place in Azerbaijan's musical tradition and is included in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The concert featured captivating performances of Azerbaijani mugham by soloist Miralam Miralamov from the Simurgh group, alongside Elnur Mikayilov on kamancha and honoured artist Kamran Karimov on naghara, as well as Zaki Valiyev on tar.

The Azerbaijan State Dance Ensemble also showcased traditional national dances during the event. Prior to the concert, Azerbaijani national dances were performed in Havana's central Plaza de Armas.

On November 8, 2020, the Azerbaijani forces liberated the strategic Shusha city in the Karabakh region from a decades-long Armenian occupation. The city’s salvation was seen as the pinnacle of the Azerbaijani army’s weeks-long counter-attack operations, codenamed “Iron Fist.”

Shusha was said to be one of the major strongholds of the Armenian occupying forces, who could not resist face-to-face battles with the Azerbaijani troops and retreated in disarray. Liberation of the city has had a crucial impact on the surrender of Armenia's forces and the signing of a tripartite statement on November 10, 2020.

On December 3, 2020, President Ilham Aliyev signed an order establishing November 8 as “Victory Day” in Azerbaijan.

By Vafa Guliyeva