Iberoamerican Fiesta in the City of the Parks

Held every year in Holguín, the Ibero-American Culture Festival is a cultural event meant to render homage to the encounter of the old and the new world. In Cuba, such encounter took place with the arrival of the admiral Christopher Columbus to Bariay Bay, in Holguín Province, on October 27th, 1942.

The festival, which has contributed to the development of culture in this Cuban province, gathers intellectuals, artists and people from our country and all Iberoamerica who are interested in maintaining an enriched cultural dialog within this space of art and reflection.

This year’s festival will include cultural events dedicated to the audiovisual; the Ibero-American Symposium on Arts, wuth the presentation of the project “Leer America” from Casa de las Americas; exhibitions and an attractive popular party that beautifies its venue, the Ciudad de los Parques (City of Parks)..

The Ibero-American Conference on Thinking, which will has two forums: “Ameroiberia, Utopia or Reality?” and “50 years of Cuban Revolution” are also programmed for the festival.

July 26 School Complex: Real Heritage of Cuban History

For those who have read about the decisive events that took place July 26, 1953 in the Eastern Cuban city of Santiago de Cuba, visiting what used to be the Moncada Garrison, now 26 of July School Campus, is like having history at our finger tips. Being inside the building museum feels the past, while turning our eyes to its school rooms and outside its walls, translates into an encounter with the reality that inspired the historic action.

The building was raised while Cuba was ruled by the tyrannical Spanish governor Miguel de Tacon, back in the first half of the 19th century, and later during that period the facility was used as a prison for Cuban independence fighters who opposed Spanish colonialism. By that time, the building had only its first floor and a basement with room for 200 prisoners.

The solid facility was first named "Cuartel Nuevo Presidio" garrison, later it was called "Reina Mercedes" and in the early 20th century it was named after independence general Guillermon Moncada, who had been incarcerated in its cells.

In 1937, the building was partially destroyed by a fire. Later it was rebuilt and remodelled with observation points and thick walls that hid the many tortures and murders that took place in its cells under the bloody Fulgencio Batista dictatorship that took power through a coup in 1952.

Following the attack of the garrison by a group of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro, July 26, 1953, many of the attackers were murdered or gunned down in different sites of the city of Santiago de Cuba. One year after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the garrison was turned into a school complex, like many other garrisons and barracks throughout the country were.

At present, the 26 of July School City or elementary education complex is made up of six schools named after martyrs of the historic action.

Holguin Remembers “El Guayabero”

The Holguin branch of the animation studios of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) presented this week the video "Mi son retozón", dedicated to the legendary singer Faustino Oramas "El Guayabero". The new video features images of the picaresque character whose humor made him as popular as his quixotic figure. “Los guayaberos”, founded by Faustino Oramas, provided the music for this tribute to the singer known for his humorous songs and who toured the country with a unique Tres guitar and peculiar hat. “El Guayabero” died in 2007 in Holguin and was one of the greatest exponents of son music, deeply rooted in the eastern region of the island. He began his musical career at age 15 with the La Tropical Septet. The song "Marieta" was undoubtedly his most popular , recognized and hummed over and over again by his followers.

The historical Biran

If you come to Holguin you can visit Fidel Castro birthplace and learn about his extraordinary life.

Biran is a historical place located in this eastern province, founded by Angel Castro Argis, father of the Cuban leader of the Revolution. Castro Argis built 27 houses and facilities forming the Biran Castro Batey.

You can enjoy the scenic community which, along with its buildings, has also protected the natural environment. Eleven of the original wooden buildings constructed by Castro Argis remain well maintained today, the majority painted yellow with red zinc roofs. Members of the Castro Ruz family, along with other residents, often share interesting local anecdotes with visitors.

There´s a two-story house where President Fidel Castro grew up and where his parents Angel Castro Argis and Lina Ruz Gonzalez resided until their deaths.

Among the buildings is the Rural School #15, which was brought to Biran by Angel Castro and served as school for his children and the rest of the community’s children.

Gibara: Low-Budget Film Festival Begins

The International Low-Budget Film Festival that takes place each year in Gibara, opened Monday with the traditional parade and the screening of the Cuban film "Un dia de noviembre" by the late film director Humberto Solas.

The Cuban actress Eslinda Nunez, Margarita Maguregui from Spain and Mexican Filmmaker Ricardo Benet make up the jury that will grant the awards for the winning films in the category of fiction.

A jury made up by Gonzalo Fredes from Chile; the Cuban Xenia Rivery and Ivan Trujillo from Mexico will grant two awards in the section of rough cut projects and unpublished scripts for feature films, sponsored by HIVOS and Swiss Effects.

Filmmakers Jesus Leon, from Spain; Lissette Vila, from Cuba and Mexican Guillermo Moteforte will grant the prizes in the category of documentary, video art and experimental works.

The program for the event includes forums to debate topics related to the Cuban film such as "The invisible offices, an unresolved school," and “For a less Low-Budget Film: Towards an optimal post-production with greater potential for distribution."

The festival will pay a special tribute to Cuban filmmaker Tomas Gutierrez Alea, with the screening of the documentary “Titon: de La Habana a la Guantanamera,” directed by
Mirta Ibarra, on Tuesday at 7:00 pm at the Jibá movie. Films like "Fresa y Chocolate" and "La muerte de un burócrata," both directed by Titon, will also be shown during the festival.

Gibara Welcomes International Low-Budget Film Festival

The coastal city of Gibara in Holguin, will host the 7th "Humberto Solas International Low-Budget Film Festival, schedule from April13 to 19.

Convened by the Cuban Institute for Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC), the Ministry of Culture and the Governments of Holguín and Gibara, the event will pay homage to the late Cuban filmmaker Humberto Solas, author of the project. Participants will compete in the categories of documentaries, feature films and short fiction, unpublished scripts, and experimental video works, among others.

The Jiba cinema of this city, also called “La villa blanca”, will be the headquarters for the Festival and will also host the opening and closing galas, while the Culture Center will host conferences on world cinema. In addition to film screenings, the event will once again include a mix of different artistic manifestations such as theater, painting, music and literature.

Despite the damage caused by Hurricane Ike in Gibara on September 7, 2008, the organizers have made available to participants a date with film that refused to disappear.

Holguin: older than it seems

Recent finds in Holguin could confirm the existence of an aboriginal and Hispanic community with certain economic development before 1752. The finds might corroborate the hypothesis supported by specialists from their previous work on the house of the Lieutenant Governor. For researchers, there was already an important population group since the mid-seventeenth century.
The excavations of what could have been the interior courtyard, revealed a collection of time materials like fragments of utilitarian pottery clay, English earthenware of the 18th and 17th Centuries, Spanish majolica in the early eighteenth, and fragments of flint blades, cut in the manner of the aboriginal inhabitants of the area.
The background of this research is found in the excavations carried out at the house of the Lieutenant Governor and the San Isidoro Church, used as a cemetery in the eighteenth century.
The new findings underline the need for greater attention to the architectural knowledge of history of this Cuban province of a remarkable architecture beauty.