Havana - Cuban intellectual Eusebio Leal said today that the University of Havana (UH) stands out as a defender of national identity, in a speech at a ceremony for the 290th anniversary of its creation.

In an act that took place in the main hall of the College of San Geronimo, foundational headquarters of the house of high studies, the historian of the city of Havana highlighted the benefits of offering a comprehensive scientific and academic preparation.

Leal also referred to the importance conferred by the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, on the educational process, and recalled his words when he said that revolutionary processes are children of ideas and culture.

At the university we search for wisdom, the universe of knowledge and perpetuating the ideas of the great thinkers of all time, he said at the celebration, which was attended by the rector of UH, Gustavo Cobreiro and Minister of Higher Education, Juan Ramón Saborido.

In another moment of his speech, Leal mentioned that education begins in the cradle and ends in the grave, as José de la Luz y Caballero, who was considered here as the father of pedagogy, said many years ago.

He also recalled Cuban revolutionaries and student leaders Julio Antonio Mella and José Antonio Echeverría, and the eminent thinker and statesman Fidel Castro were trained in the UH classrooms.

Founded on January 5, 1728, by the Dominican friars belonging to the Order of Preachers, the University of Havana is the oldest educational institution in Cuba and one of the first in the Americas.