Carilda Oliver Labra
Havana, Sept. 28 (RHC)—Cuba’s western Matanzas City aspires to be designated a City of Literature by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
To that end, a commission has been set up, presided over by Leonel Pérez, the city historian, to prepare the application that will be submitted to UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
In statements to the press, Pérez explained that Matanzas is the birthplace of renowned Cuban and Latin American writers and poets, and the site of a strong literary and editorial movement that began in the 19th century.
He added that the commission in charge of preparing the pertinent documentation includes several local institutions and personalities, writers, journalists, researchers, intellectuals Urbano Martínez Carmenate, Alfredo Zaldívar and Ulises Rodríguez Febles, and Efraín Pérez, director of the provincial center for literature and book.
The City Historian stressed that the plan is to submit the bid to UNESCO in the framework of the upcoming edition of the International Book Fair in Matanzas, set for March 2022.
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 to foster international cooperation within and across cities worldwide that utilize culture and creativity as a strategic lever for sustainable urban development.
The Network brings together cities from all continents and regions with different geo-demographic, economic, social, cultural and environmental settings. They work together towards a common mission: placing culture and creativity at the core of their urban development plans to make cities safe, resilient, inclusive, sustainable and future-proof in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, notably Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
The Creative Cities Network is composed of cities committed to pooling their resources, their experiences and knowledge for the common objectives set forth in the Network’s Mission Statement, and to actively cooperating at the international level through inter-city partnerships.
The Network has member cities in seven creative fields: Literature, Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Media Arts, and Music.
In 2019, two Cuban cities became members of UNESCO Creative Cities Network: Havana in music and Trinidad, in Crafts and Folk Art.
Other two Cuban cities have submitted bids to be designated UNESCO creative cities. These are eastern Santiago de Cuba, in music and Camagüey, also in literature.
