Havana, August 5 (RHC) -- The 20th edition of the Literary Crusade, organized by the Hermanos Saíz Association, returns today to the figure of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro, promoter of the cultural movement since 1959 in Cuba.

From the 9th to the 13th, on the 97th birthday of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, "a festival that goes beyond books and literature, to take art in general to the most remote places," said Gretel Diaz, head of the Art and Literature, Criticism and Research section of the organization.

Supported and sponsored by the Provincial Book Center, the Nicolas Guillen Foundation and the Union of Journalists of Cuba, this event will also be dedicated to the IV Congress of the Hermanos Saiz Association -AHS-, and the 95th anniversary of the birth of Ernesto Che Guevara.

Writers from Ciego de Avila, Las Tunas, Sancti Spíritus, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo will come to the land called Cradle of Antillean literature, since the first literary work in the nation was born here: Espejo de Paciencia, by Silvestre de Balboa, written in 1608.

The celebration of the arts will also include the performance of troubadours, in addition to a fair called "Old Friends", organized by the Center of the Book and Literature.

Speaking to the press, Yoandra Santana, president of the branch of the Nicolás Guillén Foundation in Camagüey, acknowledged that the Crusade ensures that "literature is not elitist, that it reaches everyone and that it is with a people that accompanies it".

The schedule also includes workshops and round table discussions on the theme of comics, manga and literature, which will include members of the MangaQba Project.

In addition to municipalities and more rural areas, the Crusade will reach prisons, reflecting the will of the Ministry of Culture to make art and culture felt in all areas of the nation without discrimination.

On the eve of the 13th at night, the Cantata dedicated to the birthday of the Commander in Chief, will be the culmination of the 20 years of the Crusade, an event that in its history has counted on the most valuable of the artistic movement of Camagüey, a vital region for the national culture itself. (Source: Prensa Latina)