Havana, January 19 (RHC-PL) -- Participants from Brazil, Venezuela, Italy and the United States are to take part in the 10th Nicolas Guillen International Music and Poetry Festival and Colloquium. The event is from March 22nd to the 24th and will also include national speakers Dr. María del Carmen Barcia, Dr. Reynaldo Sanchez Porro, and poet and researcher Waldo Leyva.

On the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Cuba, the Nicolas Guillen Foundation proposes using the event to present ideas about the culture and history of the African continent from the days of the slave trade to the present.

There will be music recitals, poetry readings and exhibitions during the celebration, which will also commemorate the five decades of the publication of Biography of a Runaway Slave, by Miguel Barnet.

The reflection of the African heritage in Guillen's work and thought together with the cultural contributions of the peoples of Africa will focus the event named after Guillen, the national poet of Cuba and author of Motivos de Son and Sóngoro Cosongo, and other publications.

The Schola Cantorum Coralina led by Professor Alina Orraca, Cuban pianist Jorge Luis Prats and flutist and director of the group NG La Banda, José Luis Cortés will participate in the musical program of Festival.