Literary March: Recognition of Young Talent in the San Juan Murmurante.
The multi-award-winning writer from Matanzas, Nathaly Hernández Chávez, was the guest at the most recent installment of the San Juan Murmurante space, in the courtyard of the José White Concert Hall, within the activities of the Literary March event, in Matanzas.
“The Murmuring San Juan event was very special for me because I was able to discuss my recently published books, which I’m currently presenting: Sirens on the San Juan River and Bazaar of Babylon.
During the interview, the poet, storyteller, and editor spoke about her early interest in literature, thanks to the love of reading instilled in her by her family from childhood.
She highlighted the tools her training as a journalist provided for developing a discipline that has shaped her already extensive literary output, as well as the influence of workshops like Cintio Vitier and Grafómanos on the consolidation of her writing and her connection with the Hermanos Saiz Association and Aldabón Publishing House, along with her work as a promoter. She also addressed her relationship with Matanzas Publishing House, where she has worked as an editor for digital books since 2023. 
The event provided a fitting occasion for the presentation of her first novel, Alexa’s Library, winner of the Calendario Prize, and her most recent work, Bazaar of Babylon and Sirens in San Juan, presented by journalist, poet, and editor Maylan Álvarez, who emphasized that Náthaly is already “an author to be reckoned with, not only within Matanzas literature, but also in Cuban letters.”
Hernández Chávez received recognition from the Federation of Cuban Women, the Union of Young Communists, the Provincial Center for Books and Literature, and ARTEX.
“I really enjoyed the space because I was also accompanied by so many people from the artistic world here in Matanzas: from Ediciones Matanzas, Aldabón, Cary Padilla and Artex as hosts, the representatives of various institutions such as the AHS, the UNEAC, the FMC. They really made me feel very good.”
Náthaly Hernández Chávez has received, among others, the Aldabón, Eliécer Lazo, Celestino de Cuento, Bladimir Zamora in Memoriam, David (science fiction), and Calendario awards.
At San Juan Murmurante, the sociocultural project Maravillas de la Infancia, cultivador de sueños (Childhood Wonders, Dream Cultivator), and Aniubis Segura presented their art. In April, researcher and professor Dr. Isabel Hernández Campos, director of the San Severino Castle, Museum of the Route of the Slaves, will be the guest of honor.
Written by Jessica Mesa.
