Havana, December 21 (JIT)-- Friends, family and colleagues today bid farewell to the great Rolando Garbey, an indispensable figure of boxing in Cuba.

Osvaldo Vento Montiller, president of Inder, and Raúl Fornés Valenciano, first vice-president, attended the funeral and burial.

Silence as respect and applause as a last tribute marked the farewell at the Pantheon of Sports in the Necropolis of Colon, which was attended by sports glories and other personalities.

José Antonio Miranda Carrera, general director of high performance of Inder, said goodbye to the mourning.

JIT reproduces his words...

Dear family and friends...

It would be enough to review his competitive history to affirm that the man to whom today we say goodbye physically was part of the most select of the Cuban Boxing School.

But his merits were not limited to the conquest of laurels such as two Olympic medals, a world title or three Pan American crowns. 

He shone beyond those and other triumphs enhanced by his dedication to the gym, refined technique, elegance and mastery of the necessary tools to become a star of the sport of his dreams.

Rolando Garbey Garbey was, above his outstanding service record, a patriot committed to the work that allowed him to develop his talent, a Cuban who never renounced his roots and demonstrated that, as Martí said, all the glory of the world fits in a grain of corn.

He loved his family, was a militant in the ranks of the Communist Party of Cuba and embraced the mission of teaching until his last days in the same school where he arrived by the hand of the great Alcides Sagarra, whom he loved like a father.

For all this, he received numerous recognitions and was deeply felt by a people who admired him for the values with which he multiplied the meaning of his contributions as an athlete and coach.

The best tribute will be to keep his legacy alive, as a permanent inspiration for those who give continuity to the work to which he devoted himself completely, so that the Lone Star Flag continues to fly in the most demanding scenarios and the applause that we now request for him, as the champion he will always be, continues to resound.

Thank you very much...