Virgilio Lopez Lemus receives El libro alto at Book Fair.

Virgilio Lopez Lemus was the central figure of the colloquium this Sunday morning at the Palacio de Junco Museum, during the last day of the Matanzas Book Fair. His facets as essayist, poet, as well as theopoetics, were addressed by the panel.

Virgilio Lopez Lemus was the central figure of the colloquium this Sunday morning at the Palacio de Junco Museum, during the last day of the Matanzas Book Fair. His facets as essayist, poet, as well as theopoetics, were addressed by the panel.

Derbys Domínguez delved into Virgilio’s lyric writing when he expressed that in his poetry the author dispenses with the traditional forms of verse, while using the resonance of metrics in search of musicality. His broad mastery of language facilitates the description of clear images, the presentation of a well-structured philological thought showing the perfect imperfection of each verse.

To exemplify these characteristics, the poet, essayist and editor shared with those present several titles by the author, among which he highlighted his most recent anthology, Cuatro copas llenas (Four Full Glasses), comprising the books Tristeza de las cosas que no fueron, La inmensa edad and Concierto con variantes (Sadness of Things That Were Not, The Immense Age and Concert with Variants).

The poet, decimist and editor referred to the essays of the author to whom the 2025 Fair is dedicated, together with Francisca López Civeira. He focused his speech on the text Las aguas y el espejo, ensayos sobre poética, published by the AHS publishing house in Matanzas.

The director of Aldabon Editions valued that the poet has devoted himself so much to essays that he does not assume himself as the great poet he is. In recent times, he said, his essay writing has been recognized with the UNEAC, the Literary Criticism and Alejo Carpentier awards.

He also highlighted Virgilio’s merit in promoting the work of the youngest writers, who are sometimes unknown, and highlighted his work as a literary critic and essayist.

The philosopher and theologian Adolfo Ham Reyes also participated in the celebration of the author of La décima constante, Aguas tributarias, Narciso, las aguas y el espejo, Donde ha caído el ángel and Escribo en carne humana with a look at the theopoetics present in the writing of López Lemus.

The intellectual of more than a hundred works expressed that he could not miss the appointment in the city to which he feels united in a special way. «I am extremely happy that the 33rd Havana International Book Fair has been dedicated to me and that I have the opportunity to visit eight provinces of the country, which is wonderful,» he said.

«I had to come to Matanzas, I am very happy to be here. I have the flu, but Matanzas could not be missing in my itinerary even though I was not in good health. And here I am, with much joy, with much jubilation, in one of the Cuban cities that I love the most».

He took the opportunity to express the reasons why he feels so close to the city of Matanzas. «In my writing work there is not so much dedicated to Matanzas, just passing through at some point.

«Matanzas I also met it in passing, when I was a teenager coming from the current province of Santi Spíritus to Havana and of course we had to pass by that splendid bay and see the beauty of the city.

«Subsequently I have received much affection in this city. I have very good friends in Matanzas and I also had the beautiful friendship of Carilda, who had an extraordinary love for Matanzas and who in one way or another transmitted it to me».

Virgilio expressed his considerations about the significance of Matanzas within the Cuban literary panorama. «Matanzas has one of the most important literary centers in Cuba,» he said.

«I would say that together with Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Santi Spíritus, Santa Clara and the City of Havana itself. They are the most important literary centers in the country in terms of quantity and quality.

«Here there is a very active focus with three publishing houses. One of them is very peculiar, with the book as art, and therefore Matanzas continues to occupy a privileged place in Cuban literature and art».

During the morning session, Cuadriga was presented, the third title published by Virgilio Lopez Lemus under the seal of Ediciones Matanzas. It is a text that joins part of the work of four poets that apparently have nothing to do with each other, but that the author manages to make coincide, in spite of their different languages, by means of the word.

Edited by Bárbaro Velasco and designed by Johann Trujillo, the author of the book achieves a phenomenal interweaving between the biographies of poets Arthur Rimbaud, French, Fernando Pessoa, Portuguese, Nicaraguan Ernesto Cardenal and Mexican Octavio Paz and their texts, according to the presenter, narrator, poet and editor Náthaly Hernández Chávez.

The meeting was an opportunity to present for the first time the Aldabón Distinction, in this case to Virgilio López Lemus, who also received El libro alto, the most important distinction of the Provincial Center of Books and Literature in Matanzas.

Written by Jessica Mesa.