Holguin, October 24 (RHC) -- The Ibero-American Culture Fiesta is back in the eastern Cuban city of Holguín from October 24 to 30 commemorating the 180th anniversary of the birth of Cuban independence hero, General Calixto García.

The event will run under the slogan ‘the Caribbean in Latin America: the possible utopia’ and also be dedicated to the 60 years of the physical disappearance of Cuban revolutionary hero Camilo Cienfuegos. Other commemorations included on the event’s agenda: the centenary of the death of writer Benito Pérez Galdós from the Canary Islands and three centuries of the establishment of Holguín.

Some 162 artists and performers from 16 countries will participate in different traditional spaces provided by the cultural fiesta. Casa de Iberoamérica Director Eduardo Ávila Rumayor, the event’s organizer, has highlighted that the gathering’s main activities include the 14th Ibero-American Congress of Thought, the Iberoarte Handicraft Fair, the Ibero-American Literature Colloquium, the International Solidarity Brigades, the Fiesta Campesina, the Pasacalle Iberoamericano and a trip to Bariay Key in the Rafael Freyre municipality as the closing of the meeting of cultures and traditions.

The Ibero-American Congress of Thought, set for October 25/27, will continue to be the Fiesta’s cornerstone, which has shown its strength for 14 years. On hand will be more than 200 delegates from several Cuban provinces and from nations, such as the United States, El Salvador, Italy, Mexico and Costa Rica.

The program includes forums dedicated to subjects, such as Social Thought, Gender Studies, the Caribbean, Artistic Processes, Socio-demographic Studies, A Better World and the Archaeological Day. Based on the halls of the Hotel Pernik, the Congress will launch the books that recently won the Guarch Delmonte Prize:  Huella y memoria hispánica (Footprint and Hispanic memory in Holguin) by a group of researchers, and the number two edition of the Guayza magazine.

Some national guests are the Guantanameros of Nengón de Imías and the Babul Company; the Ballet Folklórico de Oriente, the Steel Band of El Cobre and the project Ojos from Santiago de Cuba; the Tumba Francesa from Sagua de Tánamo, in Holguín; Rumbatá from Camagüey; the Rosario Cárdenas dance company, singers Tania Pantoja and Ivette Cepeda, and Vocal Renacer from Havana.

Meanwhile, Ivette Ríos from Mexico and Dj Fei Vega from Spain are scheduled to participate, plus young and popular musicians De Marco, Kiko and Sara; while Bob Michaels, Leon Quincy Allen and the Original Chicago Blue All Stars will be on hand from the United States. ‘The fact that these US delegates are going to attend, interested in knowing Cuban cultural experiences and community art work, is also a way to face the US blockade against our country’, said Organizing Committee President Eduardo Ávila.