Poetic-Artistic Gala at the Matanzas Book Fair Receives Standing Ovation

The applause of the special gala of the 34th International Book Fair in Matanzas, staged at the José White Concert Hall, can still be heard.

In a beautiful scale of tribute to emblematic personalities to whom this event is dedicated, and to Russia, the guest of honor country, a spiritual atmosphere was created that dazzled the audience.

The space was seasoned with poems and songs performed by Olga Margarita Muñoz and maestro Mario Guerrero on guitar, joined by the performance of dancer Liliam Padrón, National Dance Prize winner, and the masterful execution of select classical works by concert pianist Elvira Santiago.

The poetry and trova performance «Concilio de las aguas» (Council of Waters) carried the guiding thread divided into three segments, announced by writer Alfredo Zaldívar and headed by the poem «Como ángel cierto» (Like a Certain Angel) by poetess Digdora Alonso, on the occasion of celebrating the 105th anniversary of the birth of the famous Matanzas writer and pedagogue.

The first segment included poems by writer Marilyn Bobes, recognized as a national figure, through the voices of Náthaly Hernández, Milene Aguilera, and Maylan Álvarez.

Next came the dedication to Russian literature and music. A singular brilliance was achieved in the selection of poems and compositions.

Daniel Cruz opened with «Todo lo sacrifico a tu memoria» (I Sacrifice Everything to Your Memory) by Alexander Pushkin, and the audience continued listening to works by Anna Akhmatova, Marina Tsvetaeva, and the Spanish version of Sergei Yesenin’s work by the unforgettable Yumurino poet Juan Luis Hernández Milián, National Translation Prize.

A singular appreciation of Slavic idiosyncrasy was provoked by the choreography of dancer and teacher Liliam Padrón, titled «Aproximaciones a la adivinación. Segundo intento» (Approaches to Divination. Second Attempt), in spectacular synchronization with the music, melodies, and messages expressed in each movement, to which she added a palpably personal emotion.

Masterful were the harmonies and contrasts of the Piano Preludes by the great composer Sergei Rachmaninoff in the prodigious hands of Elvira Santiago.

Digdora Alonso’s poetry returned to the stage with her famous poems «Te voy a ver» (I Will See You), «Yo, mi desconocida» (I, My Unknown Self), and «Bajo el hongo» (Under the Mushroom), giving way to the piano works of Ernesto Lecuona and Ignacio Cervantes.

Attending the gala were Mario Sabines Lorenzo, First Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Governor Marieta Poey; Osbel Marrero, Provincial Director of Culture; Efrahim Pérez Izquierdo, director of the Provincial Book and Literature Center; and José Manuel Espino, president of UNEAC in Matanzas, along with invited intellectuals and Matanzas culture lovers.

Central remarks were delivered by Doctor Honoris Causa Ercilio Vento Canosa, City Historian, to whom the Athens of Cuba dedicates this 34th International Book Fair, who expressed among his valuable ideas that digital technology is taking hold in this era, and some claim the extinction of the book, but the leap to the cosmos has not been the greatest achievement of civilization; rather, it was the discovery of phonemes. The emergence of the text that expands knowledge toward infinity through reading.

Hence the significance of this Book Fair as a means of approaching intellect and enlightenment.

The gala hosted the award ceremony of the Digdora Alonso National Poetry Contest, whose laurel was conferred upon the notebook «Definiciones» (Definitions) by young poet Pablo G. Lleonart.