Fotocanímar Attended the International Photography Festival

From October 29 to November 1, the second edition of Fotocanímar will take place. The International Photography Festival and Colloquium of Matanzas bets in 2026 on photography as a way to establish interconnections between the present and the future, but also as a means of creating networks between people, projects, and cultures.

Prior to its second edition, the 2026 event is forging important links with institutions, creators, and events to promote the decentralization of art.

Until this Sunday, July 5, Matanzas photographer Julio César García Martínez, founder and director of the Festival, and designer Dyan Barceló participated in the Second International Meeting of Photography Festivals in Barcelona, Spain.

The event brought together directors and curators from more than 50 photography festivals from the global sector ecosystem for four days.

«It is a meeting organized in Barcelona since 2025, the year they made Fotocanímar a member of IFA (International Association of Photography Festivals) and invited us for the first time. This second time, they invited us again from July 2 to 5.

«It is a space for dialogue, connecting with other festivals, learning how festivals are run in different cultural and social contexts around the world, how they are managed, organized, and who they involve at a social and institutional level in each country.»

Among the activities in which the Matanzas visual artist participated representing Fotocanímar was the portfolio review of the event, alongside 27 other international reviewers. As a result, García Martínez selected two direct invitees for the October event.

The project «Cuando se acaba el día» (When the Day Ends) by Beatriz Polo seeks to recover the memory of one of the largest massacres committed against the civilian population during the Spanish Civil War through the testimony of survivors and their relatives, establishing a dialogue between archival images and snapshots of a coast where remnants of the old road still survive.

Meanwhile, «Cisjordania resiste» (West Bank Resists) by Mauricio Morales brings us closer to the escalation of Israeli violence in the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and civilian organizing to confront it, in a graphic documentation covering several periods of time in the war and genocide by the state of Israel against Gaza, describes Fotocanímar on its Facebook page.

The activity program focused on fostering collaborative learning, strategic debate, and international exchange, allowing delegates to analyze the realities of their respective regions and seek alternatives for cultural management in the contemporary context.

«What is sought is to try to connect, to bring exhibition proposals that were part of each of the festivals to exchange with other events around the world. There are more informal spaces, but the goal is always to establish connections between festivals.»

«We participated in a panel where several festivals were presented. There were five in total: Fotocanímar along with four others, and there we had a leading moment.»

The local event Fotocanímar attended as a guest at this important European gathering, which began last July 2, thanks to its status as an official member of the International Association of Photography Festivals, positioning the province’s work in the most prominent specialized circuit.

«It was a very good experience, especially for us who organize a festival outside the capital and in that sense decentralize what has to do with art and culture. I think it is interesting, and anywhere in the world, achieving that kind of thing is always very good, especially for the country’s culture.

«That is one of our premises, and how we have built in such a short time such a young festival that is gaining more and more international and national recognition, with its own identity.»

«The fact that it is organized under the circumstances in which Cuba is living, participating in this meeting, exchanging with the photography being made in the world and the way festivals are run, I think is very good for the photography of the city and the country.»

Part of Fotocanímar’s organizing team, in addition to Julio César García and Dyan Barceló, are Sully Rodríguez, assistant director and in public relations; Master in Art History, art critic, and researcher Caridad Blanco, chief curator; Daisvel Pérez, curator; and Frank Ortega, Festival communication specialist.

Likewise, Patricia Muñoz will serve as curatorial assistant; Vilma Roque, Lisette Molina, and Olivia Escribano, museography assistants; Yoidel Castellanos will work on installation; Marisley Martínez Junco, president of the Provincial Council of Visual Arts, as producer; and Karla González Horta, in public relations and as production assistant, while Ramón Pacheco Salazar is the event honorary president.