Cuba to award national restoration and conservation prizes

 

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 18 (ACN) On the occasion of the International Day for Monuments and Sites, the national awards for the Restoration and Conservation of Monuments corresponding to 2023 will be presented today at the Fidel Castro Ruz Center in Havana.

According to what was recently announced at a press conference, among the nominees in the Restoration category are the Hermanos Saiz Montes de Oca House, in Pinar del Rio; the Fidel Castro Ruiz Center, in Havana, and the headquarters of the Provincial Council of Cultural Heritage, in Cienfuegos.

The "Pedro Martinez Brito" Birthplace Museum, in Ciego de Avila, and the "Walter Betancourt Fernandez" Workshop School, in Granma, are also included.

In the Conservation category, six buildings are proposed, including the Havana Parish Church of Our Lady of the Rosary and St. Louis King of France; the "Enrique Estrada" Fire Station, in Matanzas, and a private house in Ciefuegos -located on 37th Street number 5608 between 56th and 58th streets-.

From Sancti Spiritus is among the candidates for the award the natural site Sierra de las Damas, for Ciego de Avila the proposal is the historical site Conjunto Potreros de Lazaro Lopez and for Guantanamo is the Small Hydroelectric Plant Guaso Martires de Giron.

The list of nominees covers the diversity of Cuban heritage, as it ranges from religious spaces, civil buildings to places that show the industrial panorama of certain periods in the country, said Nilson Acosta, president of the National Commission of Monuments.

According to Mirna Leyva, architect and specialist of the National Heritage Council, not only the national awards will be announced at Tuesday's ceremony, but other institutions such as the National Association of Historians of Cuba, the National Association of Architects and Civil Engineers and the Cuban section of Icomos will also award collateral prizes.

The National Prize for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments is an award that recognizes the country's wealth in this specialty and encourages the work of those who devote themselves to the defense and protection of Cuba's cultural and natural values.

Every April 18, the International Day for Monuments and Sites is celebrated, and this year, under the theme "Heritage in Transformation", the date is linked to heritage conservation through climate-resilient ways to strengthen sustainable development and support the protection of vulnerable communities.