6 HERENCIA CULTURAL CUBANA / VOL. XVI I I • No.2 • 08-12

WORDS FROM THE PRESIDENT

Like bones to the human body, the axle to the wheel, thewing to the bird, and the air to the wing, so is liberty theessence of life. Whatever is done without it is imperfect

Jose Martí (1853-1895), the Apostle of Cuban Independence.

By Luis Mejer-Sarrá.

I t must be comfortable living in the 21st Centurypreoccupied with business & family, whileenjoying the fruits of our labors and creativeness

& seeing with satisfaction the education & progress ofour families. This is a circumstance that occurs onlywhen we live in a context of Freedom and Liberty,something we Cubans have lacked now for over 50years. But Freedom has a price; something wellunderstood by this great Nation. From theRevolutionary Wars of the 1770’s on through the CivilWar, World Wars, Korean and Vietnam Wars and therecent conflicts in the Middle East and Wars on Terror,Americans have put their lives on the line to ensurethe survival of Freedom and the security of their futurealways threatened by destabilizing and evil forces.

Visual proofs of these sacrifices can be seen inmonuments and displays in our Nation’s Capital that enliven the mind and inspire the soul.

The Lincoln Memorial, a striking classical Greek Temple with a bigger than life statue ofAbraham Lincoln presiding, a powerful metaphor to the greatness of this man. Above the statuecan be read the following words: “IN THIS TEMPLE AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLEFOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN ISENSHRINED FOREVER”.

The World War II Memorial with its impressive Gold Stars Freedom Wall in honor of 405,399Americans who died or were missing. In one of the columns of this inspiring andawesomeMemorial can be read these stirring words by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz: “THEYFOUGHT TOGETHER AS BROTHERS-IN-ARMS, THEY DIED TOGETHER AND NOWTHEY SLEEP SIDE-BY-SIDE, TO THEM WE HAVE A SOLEMN OBLIGATION”.

The Korean Memorial is not a building. Bigger than life statues of soldiers, tired & bedraggledthat have given it all for freedom, and must still keep going on, form human columns in thestark war terrain. The following eloquent words are etched in the pavement: “OUR NATION

Dr. & Mrs. Michael Tylerat the Lincoln Memorial.El Dr. Michael Tyler y suseñora en Monumento aLincoln.

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7HERENCIA CULTURAL CUBANA / VOL. XVI I I • No.2 • 08-12

Luis Mejer-Sarragraduated as a Doctor inPharmacy from the CatholicUniversity Santo Tomás deVillanueva, Havana in1958. He received diplomasin biochemistry andpharmacy from theUniversity of Pennsylvaniaand the Philadelphia Collegeof Pharmacy. In 1970, heobtained a Ph.D. inBiochemistry from theUniversity of Miami. He isthe current President ofGreenworks, Inc. and theScientific Director of SarraNatural Products.

HONORS HER SONS AND DAUGHTERS WHOANSWERED THE CALL TO DEFEND A COUNTRYTHEY NEVER KNEW AND A PEOPLE THEYNEVER MET”.

The Vietnam Memo-rial is so subtle it isalmost a Zen ab-stration. Therein liesits powerful message.A long black granitewall partially buried inthe ground, a tes-tament to the thou-sands of Americanwho so unselfishlygave their lives to savea foreign people fromthe ravages of To-talitarian Commu-

nism and whose names are carved in its dark shiny surface, names that cry out forfreedom.

Encouraged by the spirit of our Cuban Apostle we can visualize a similar wallconstructed in our imaginations with the names of every victim, of every fighter forfreedom, of everyone suffering loss and imprisonment and hopelessness anddesperation and pain living under totalitarian regimes, names that also cry out forfreedom. In their honor we pick up inspiration from the American sacrifices for freedomand we dedicate it to them and to the future free Republic of Cuba which we envisionas becoming the Beacon of Freedom and Liberty in the American Continent.

This issue of Herencia emphasizes the life and work of Ramón de la Sagra, animportant Spanish naturalist and economist. During his stay in Cuba in the 19thcentury he realized scientific studies, particularly in the natural sciences. He directedthe Botanical Gardens and the Institute of Agronomy in Havana and he authorednumerous treatises on the scientific, economic and political status of Cuba at the timeincluding the famous 13-volume Encyclopedia of La Sagra which is regarded as mostvaluable and rare among Cuba publications.

We wish to acknowledge Dr. & Mrs. Michael Tyler for making possible the images ofWashington DC that appear in this work

Korean War Memorial.Monumento a la Guerra de Corea.

Vietnam War Memorial Wall.Muro del Monumento a la Guerra de Vietnam.

World War II MemorialMonumento a la SegundaGuerra Mundial.

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