The Week of National Culture -- from the 10th through 20th of October

Havana, October 10 (PL)-- The Week of National Culture -- from the 10th through 20th of October -- promotes communion of various artistic manifestations in honor of the 154th anniversary of the beginning of the struggles for independence in Cuba.

These historic dates refers to the identity and sovereignty of the nation, as established by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, first president of the Republic and Father of the Homeland, who led the liberation, democratic and anti-slavery movement, considered decisive in the history of the island.

The week also commemorates the musical composition with lyrics by Pedro Figueredo, written on October 20 under the name of La bayamesa, as the piece that became the National Anthem was initially called.

This year, the initiative responds to the slogan La Cultura es Patria and includes a series of concerts, plastic arts exhibitions, dance and dramatic theater shows, and literary presentations throughout the country.

According to authorities of the Ministry of Culture, these ten days are dedicated to institutions founded by the revolutionary government in 1959, such as the 60th anniversary of the National Lyric Theater, the anniversary of the first publication of the emblematic book El siglo de las Luces by Alejo Carpentier and the New Trova Movement.

The agenda of activities includes the Community Trovada in the Havana neighborhood known as El Fanguito, where singer-songwriter Gerardo Alfonso and other exponents of the genre will perform.

In turn, the National Folkloric Ensemble will take its talent to the communities in transformation of this capital while other artistic groups such as La Colmenita, the Folkloric Ballet and the Rumbatá Group will carry out similar actions in the provinces of Pinar del Río, Camagüey and Artemisa.

The inauguration of the 27th Alicia Alonso Havana International Ballet Festival will mark the closing of the Cuban Culture Day which, as every year, maintains the objective of preserving and strengthening the country's historic-cultural memory through proposals that contribute to the formation of values in the population.