More Than 20 New Titles at the Book Fair in Matanzas
The 34th International Book Fair in Matanzas will showcase more than 20 attractive new releases from August 20 to 23, with its main venue at Libertad Park, as announced during a press conference held at the Digdora Alonso House of Letters.
The director of the Provincial Book and Literature Center, Efrahim Pérez Izquierdo, while specifying the particulars, indicated that the Matanzas, Aldabón, and Vigía publishing houses are currently present at the Havana Fair stands with around 70 published titles, amid an extraordinary effort by the institutions and their workers, as they are not exempt from existing difficulties.
The Yumurino fairground will be designed around a large-format image of the Commander-in-Chief alongside those of the five writers recognized in previous fairs, with this year’s special edition featuring the figure of Dr. Ercilio Vento Canosa, to whom the most important literary event of 2026 in the Athens of Cuba is dedicated.
The inaugural gala, inspired by Russian literature and verses by poetess Digdora Alonso, on the anniversary of her birth, will feature the performance «Concilio de las aguas» (Council of Waters), in which prominent poets will participate, along with the Danza Espiral company in a choreography by the 2026 National Dance Prize winner, Liliam Padrón, and the acclaimed concert artist Hilda Elvira Santiago.
On that occasion, the National Poetry Contest in honor of the distinguished Matanzas pedagogue and writer will be awarded.
Additionally, Pérez Izquierdo noted that book sales will begin in the morning at the fairground, and children’s projects will perform.
In the park, five foreign publishers will be located facing the Government building, and on the side along Contreras Street, private sales points with school and office supplies will be placed.
During the press conference for provincial media, Osbel Marrero Acosta, provincial director of Culture and president of the organizing committee, emphasized that there is government support to achieve the organization of this event, which entails a response in books — very scarce, but brought for our public — which will require the greatest care for Matanzas’ monumental heritage, as befits Libertad Park and its surroundings.
