The fact that South Africa will be the Guest of Honor at the 33rd Havana International Book Fair, to be held from February 13 to 23, 2025, in the capital, -to be later extended to all the provinces of the country- is, being an African nation, a fact “that fills us with pride and commitment, the third country of that brother continent to receive that status”.
This is what Juan Rodriguez Cabrera, president of the Cuban Book Institute and of the Organizing Committee of the Fair, said yesterday to a group of journalists, writers and directors of the Cuban publishing world, gathered at the International Press Center, which included Yvonne Nkwenkwezi Phosa, South African ambassador to Cuba, and the authors to whom the long-awaited event is dedicated on this occasion: Dr. Francisca López Civeira, National History Award 2008 and National Social and Humanistic Sciences Award 2022; and poet, essayist, literary critic and translator Virgilio López Lemus.
It was not news that the Fair will be held under very difficult conditions for the country, as the most recent editions have also been; but it will be, in the words of Rodriguez, “one of the most beautiful, most profound and most beloved things we are going to offer to the world.”
The literary event will commemorate two important celebrations: the 25th anniversary of the creation, by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, of the Territorial Editions System, and the 130th anniversary of José Martí’s death in combat.
This Fair, which is being held under very hard and special conditions, will count on the dedication, motivation and will of Cuban writers and creators, book workers and the pride of being Cuban, said Rodriguez, and assured that “all our friends from around the world” will be with us.
It will be, once again, a Fair, the best possible, in which there is nothing left in the hands of its organizers to give, and designed for the Cuban family, which always awaits its arrival, and in which there will be literary novelties in printed books, with affordable prices, and in digital format, so that its visitors can continue to take their books home.
Hard work is being done to finish all the titles that were pending within those contemplated by the territorial publishers, and the first 77 books of the People’s Library, which groups the first part of this, which will annually increase works of the best of Cuban and universal literature. The broad offer of more than 1,200 digital books, in which more than 65 Cuban publishers are involved, was also mentioned.
Nkwenkwezi Phosa, on behalf of the South African government and its people, thanked the Ministry of Culture and the Cuban Book Institute for the invitation and said she felt very honored by it. The diplomat said that this is an opportunity to further strengthen relations between the peoples of Mandela and Fidel, and to know the literature that is made in South Africa.
The authors honored at the event also expressed their gratitude for the fact that the Fair is dedicated to their works.
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