Caribbean Festival in Santiago de Cuba, 2018. Author: Yander Zamora

Orlando Verges Martínez, Director of Casa del Caribe, has announced that the 42nd continuous Caribbean Festival, or Fiesta del Fuego, which will take place from 3 to 9 July 2023 in Santiago de Cuba, is already open. with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Cuba and the Provincial Directorate of Culture in the territory.

On this occasion, according to the call, it is dedicated to the Mexican holidays of life and death, holidays that bring together spirituality, magic, cultural diversity, history and material culture of all of Mexico, and which were declared by UNESCO, Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2003. For Casa del Caribe and its festival, he said, this is a novelty, dedicating the event for the first time to the theme of holidays in the region and giving deserved recognition to those who are traditional Mexican holidays.

The call also points out that the Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations, which traditionally take place on November 1 and 2, also offer numerous points of contact with the popular cultures of the Caribbean region, especially carnivals, and refer to ancestral rites and beliefs closely associated with death, easily recognizable and deeply rooted among the peoples of the Caribbean.

This edition will be an exceptional opportunity for everyone to coincide in Santiago, Cuba’s most Caribbean city, with all of Mexico. Verger announced that as part of the program of this edition, in addition to artistic presentations in various locations and squares of the city, there will be a second edition of the World Congress on Death, an event in which scientists, researchers and promoters will address this topic with an interdisciplinary approach. .

The director of Casa del Caribe recalled that in July 1993 the thirteenth Caribbean Festival was dedicated to the people of Mexico; and the holding of the First World Congress on Death, organized by Casa del Caribe, which covered various topics on this subject, also had a special resonance. As a result of this congress, Nos. 22 and 24 of 1994 Caribbean magazineboth are funded by Mexico’s Popular Cultures Authority.

More than twenty stages in squares and parks at different times throughout the city will host a varied program. As in previous years, specialized seminars and meetings will be held. These include seminars on popular religions in Cuba and the Caribbean. Ceremonies and rituals, popular music workshop; workshop of plastic arts with more than twenty exhibitions and awards from the International Salon of the Caribbean; dance and percussion workshop, folk theater workshop, meeting of creative teams and representatives of folk cultures and traditions, meeting of poets. Caribbean and the World, Caribbean Literature Workshop, Speak-Up Meeting, Caribbean Young Artists Meeting, Heritage and Cultural Identity Workshop, Book and Publication Launches, Parades, Parades, Concerts and Special Awards.

Source: Juventud Rebelde