International Book Fair returns to Holguín

Photo: Heidi Calderón

The 33rd edition of the International Book Fair will take place in Holguín from March 20 to 23, 2025, with a varied program including artistic, literary, and theoretical events, with South Africa as the guest of honor.

Sarais Ferrer, director of the Provincial Center for Books and Literature, announced at a press conference that over 490 titles and nearly 80 new releases of various genres will be available to the public.

She highlighted the presentation of the National Publishing Award 2025 to be awarded at a special gala on March 21, with a jury composed of local writers.

For his part, the director of the Palabras al Viento Oral Storytelling Company, Fermín López, highlighted the opening of inclusive children's spaces, with a thematic festival dedicated to South Africa on March 23.

Kenia Leyva Hidalgo, a member of the Ediciones Holguín team, noted that the program includes the presentation of the books awarded the Adelaida del Mármol Prize, as well as panels to address the exchange between Africa and Cuban literature.

According to Leyva, tributes will be paid to José Luis Serrano and Joaquín Osorio on International Poetry Day, and Antonio Machado's 150th birthday will be celebrated on the 23rd with the recital "Voices of Cuba from Holguín.

The program also includes the Patria pavilion at the Provincial Museum La Periquera, which will be dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the Wars of Independence.

This space will also commemorate the centennial of the founding of the Cuban Communist Party and the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Minorista Group, an intellectual movement expressing the emergence of the artistic avant-garde with a decolonizing vision in favor of truly Cuban art, Leyva Hidalgo explained.

The celebration also inlcudes colloquiums and exchanges between the University of Holguín and counterpart institutions in the Republic of South Africa, and the inauguration of La Hora Tercia, a proposal by the Provincial Center for Visual Arts, as part of the Reading Festival organized by youth, scientific, and artistic institutions.

The 2025 International Book Fair of Holguín hosts the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the Territorial Publishing System and will be dedicated to Francisca López Civeira and Virgilio López Lemus; as well as to the local writers José Luis Serrano, recently awarded the Critics' Prize for his book Paquidermos, and Joaquín Osorio Carralero, National Prize for Literary Promotion. (Source: ACN)