Dear colleagues and friends:
On June 5th our friend, the Artistic Director Eddy Socorro (Matanzas, Cuba, 1950), passed away as a consequence of renal failure. Eddy began his theatrical studies in Havana and continued these in Germany in the 70’. He was the founder of ASSITEJ Cuba in 1978.
Eddy Soccoro was elected for his first term as a member of the Executive Committee of ASSITEJ International at the World Congress in Lyon, France in 1981 and became one of the three vice-presidents of the organisation.
He was re-elected in Moscow (USSR) 1984, Adelaide (Australia) 1987, Stockholm (Sweden) 1990 and Havana (Cuba) 1993 and thus rendered his service and dedication to the organisation for fifteen years and four Presidents (Ilse Rodenberg, Hildegard Bergfeld, Adolf Shapiro and Michael FitzGerald).
During this period only two or three countries from Latin America were members of ASSITEJ, and Eddy thus became the voice of that whole continent in the EC while he was also working hard to recruit member centres in the region.
He was the responsible organiser of the 11th World Congress in Havana in 1993 -a Congress that will be remembered for many important decisions on moving the organisation forward into the new millennium and for its impressive, beautiful and colourful Opening Ceremony.
He was always an open-minded person, a man of great charm, kind and generous. His memory will live on in us forever.