37th Caribbean Festival Begins in Santiago de Cuba

The Caribbean Festival is dedicated this year to the island of Bonaire, a small nation with a rich and unique culture

The 37th Caribbean Festival began on Monday in Santiago de Cuba with the participation of 700 representatives from over 20 countries. This year the festival is dedicated to the island of Bonaire.

During the inaugural gala held at the Heredia Cultural Complex, the Director of Casa del Caribe, Orlando Verges stressed that each event is a cultural conquest due to the unity it promotes to the region’s integration and an action to reinstate Caribbean identity.

The Fire Festival is a real example that culture can find the path to solidarity among humanity, said Verges, and reiterated the condemnation of the organizing committee to US President Donald Trump’s interference, anti-Cuban and reactionary policies.

Meanwhile, Bonaire’s Deputy of Social, Education and Cultural Affairs, Nina den Heyer expressed that it is an honor to have the festival dedicated to her country and the possibility of promoting their culture, which is influenced by indigenous, African and European culture.

We are a small nation, barely 20 thousand inhabitants, but we have a rich and unique culture, said den Heyer.  She also thanked the Casa del Caribe for the opportunity of sharing the event with the people from Bonaire considered one of the most important event of its type in the region.

The Steel Band orchestra from the town of El Cobre performed in the inaugural gala as well as soloist Zulema Iglesias, Madrigalista choir, the Folkloric Ballet of Oriente, Azabache group, Identidad Dance Company from the province of Cienfuegos and groups from the island of Bonaire.

Members of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and First Secretary of the Party in Santiago, Lazaro Exposito Canto and President of the Provincial Assembly of the People’s Power, Beatriz Johnson Urrutia were also at the gala.

Culture Minister Abel Prieto and Deputy Culture Minister Abel Acosta also attended the inaugural event.

Inaugurated on April 1981 by the late writer and researcher Joel James Figarola and other renowned artists and intellectuals from the province of Santiago de Cuba, the Fire Festival has become a cultural resistance space for the region.