Cuban President Attends Opening of Havana Book Fair

Havana, April 20 (ACN) Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez attended the opening ceremony of the 30th Havana International Book Fair, held at the San Carlos de La Cabana Castle on the Havana Bay area.

The Fair, which runs till April 30 and has Mexico as its honor guest, returns with in-presence attendance after two years of interruption due to the COVID-19 spread on the island.

The ceremony was attended by the President of the Cuban Parliament Esteban Lazo; the Head of the Communist Party’s Ideological Department Rogelio Polanco and deputy prime minister Ines Maria Chapman.

On the Mexican side was Culture Secretary Alejandra Frausto, the director of the Economic Culture Fund and writer Paco Taibo II, and Mexican ambassador to Cuba Miguel Diaz Reinoso.

Alejandra Frausto said that what’s most important for Mexico and Cuba is their peoples and cultures which occupy a central place in the life of both countries. She also underscored the donation of books brought to Cuba onboard the Huasteco.

The fair is dedicated to writers Alberto Prieto and Luis Alvarez and pays homage to the one hundredth birthdays of Cubans Carilda Oliver Labra and Jesus Orta Ruiz, and the 120th birthday of National Poet Nicolas Guillen.

The event is also dedicated to the 140th anniversary of the publication of the Ismaelillo poem collection by Jose Marti and the story Cecilia Valdes by writer Cirilo Villaverde.

Some 32 countries are guest to the fair along more than 90 exhibitors, editorials and book distributors.

The Havana Book Fair will offer its books at main venues and also in community areas while it will also feature other art manifestations like dance, theater and visual arts.