Aldabón Prizes: Matanzas Also Stands Out in Young Literature
Between October 4 and 5, the days of the Aldabón Prize took place in Matanzas, sponsored by the Hermanos Saíz Association in Matanzas, the Provincial Book and Literature Center, and the Provincial Directorate of Culture, dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the AHS and the 28th of its publishing house on Yumurino soil.
«The Aldabón Prizes, in our judgment, have been among the best events we have held this year. Dedicated to Ulises Rodríguez Febles, it had great participation from young poets, from young writers who accompanied us reading their poems.
«The panels were very good as well. A Concilio de las Aguas was held referring to the poets of Matanceridad. The presentations of new literary releases: ‘La doncella errante y otros monólogos para actrices’ by Ulises himself, ‘Por las esquinas del mar’ by Noel Oliva, and ‘¿Qué va a ser de ti?’ by María Lorente give the prize a different air.
«Many books were also sold in the bookstore these days. It was an excellent day,» valued Daniel Cruz Bermúdez, director of Ediciones Aldabón.
As in each edition, the books that had the greatest success among readers were recognized with the La calle de Rimbaud prize, this year with particularities, specifies the also poet, bookseller, and promoter.
«Regarding the La calle Rimbaud prizes, which are the ones we emphasize most because it has become the Reader’s Prize in the province, it is true that we are doing print runs of 150 to 200 copies, which has nothing to do with the 500 to a thousand we used to do before.
«That is why on this occasion we selected the titles from the catalog that sold fastest. One of them was ‘Agua en canasta’ by Laura Ruiz Montes. Let’s remember at the Puentes Poéticos Festival, whose presentation, at the portals of the Palacio de Junco, was a massive phenomenon; between eighty and ninety copies were sold there, and we had to hold onto it for other presentations and for the Book Fair in Havana.
«In the case of ‘Cubanomicón’ by Boris Luis Alonso, something similar happened to us. Every time we did a presentation of the book, it sold out. We had to save it little by little for the presentations and for the author to also have a presence in Havana and in other spaces as well.»
Referring to the finalists and the winner of the 2026 Aldabón Prize in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category, he considered that «it satisfies us greatly that it is Marien Cabrera, first because she is a novice author and, furthermore, because she is from Matanzas.
«That is telling us that this science fiction selection we want to make in Matanzas already has good creators, among them we count Náthaly Hernández Chávez, Raúl Piad, Tonito, Alain Gómez, and now Marien Cabrera and other young people coming behind with good science fiction works as well.
«Already from Havana they recognize that, outside the capital, Matanzas is one of the important centers in the science fiction genre. And that gives us great joy for the movement.»
Likewise, during the closing ceremony, he announced that the upcoming edition of the contest, in 2027, will be dedicated to Matanzas poet and editor Leymen Pérez. The 2026 Aldabón Prize reaffirmed Matanzas as one of the most important creative nuclei within contemporary Cuban literature.
