Although the Havana edition of the country’s 29th International Book Fair officially closed February 16 at the Cabaña Fortress, activities will continue around the city, February 20-23, while cultural institutions in the capital's municipalities and the Cuba Pavilion, one of the Fair’s most visited venues, will continue to hold book presentations and sales, along with cultural activities.
The Fair that has just concluded, reports Juan Rodríguez Cabrera, president of the Cuban Book Institute, is only the beginning of the event that will tour the entire country, with some four million copies of more than 4,000 titles available.
This year’s fair is dedicated to the authors Ana Cairo Ballester, an unforgettable intellectual who died last year, and the renowned playwright Eugenio Hernández Espinosa; with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam as country of honor. Sixteen titles from and about the guest nation were published, with publishing houses and the Federico Engels Printing Enterprise making an extraordinary effort to produce some 25,000 copies.
The literary event will open in different provinces for the following dates: Matanzas and Camagüey, March 3-8; Artemisa, Pinar del Río and Cienfuegos March 11-15. Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de Ávila and Holguín will also have their event this month from the 18th to 22nd; and from the 25th to 29th, the event moves to Guantánamo. Las Tunas residents will enjoy the fair March 31-April 4, while Villa Clara and Granma are scheduled for April 1-5; Mayabeque, April 3-5, and the Isle of Youth from the 7th through the 10th. The fair begins in Santiago de Cuba on April 8, to close its doors on the 12th, when the national celebration of literature will conclude - until next year.
