Matanzas, July 18 (PL-RHC)-- Venezuela will be the guest country of the 11th Festival of Origins, set for July 21st to the 24th in this city, 83 km east of Havana, with an intense four-day program, said the organizing committee today.
The event is also dedicated to the 100th birthday of local artist Francisco Cobo, known as the painter of the city, and to the 155th anniversary of the declaration of Matanzas as the Athens of Cuba.
Parades, conferences, exhibitions, spaces for children, farmers and literature, film discussions and performances by the circus and arts groups are included in the agenda of the event.
A highlight of the program is a forum on Fernando Ortiz, prominent anthropologist, lawyer, archaeologist, journalist and ethnologist, organized by the Research and Development Group of the Provincial Department of Culture of Matanzas.
Fernando Ortiz (1881-1969) studied in depth Afro-Cuban historical and cultural roots, made notable contributions on the sources of Cuban culture and is considered the third discoverer of Cuba following Cristobal Colon and Alejandro de Humboldt.
The topics are: Indigenous presence in the 16th and 17th centuries, Influence of different ethnic components of the national and local culture, and our cultural roots, popular and traditional culture.
The Festival of the Origins is an event that seeks to show the variety of ethnic elements that settled in Matanzas region and other cultural influences.
