To mark Cuban Book Day this Tuesday, commemorating the 1959 founding of the National Printing Press of Cuba under the direction of Alejo Carpentier (1904-1980), several leading institutions and those related to literature have expressed their commitment to this sustained and democratizing work promoting access to reading and knowledge.
The Ministry of Culture (MINCULT) stated on its social media that the date marked the beginning of the consolidation of a publishing infrastructure that supported milestones such as the National Literacy Campaign and the establishment of a network of publishing houses throughout the country, laying the foundation for an inclusive and widely accessible book culture.
For the history of the Cuban Revolution, the publication of the People’s Library and universal works such as *Don Quixote*—illustrated by the Spaniard Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and the Frenchman Gustave Doré (1832-1883)—symbolized, from its inception, the will to articulate tradition and access, thought and education, the publication states.
Currently, the Ministry of Culture continued, the book remains a strategic pillar within the country’s cultural development; its promotion and defense are a priority for institutions and all actors involved in the publishing industry.
Within this framework, Ediciones Unión, founded by National Poet Nicolás Guillén (1902-1989) in 1962 within the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), occupies an essential place, as it boasts an extensive catalog containing some of the most significant literary works produced after the revolutionary triumph, making it a national cultural treasure, according to the organization that brings together the country’s artistic and literary vanguard.
Its director, the young writer Yoel Enríquez, recalled that at certain points in Unión’s 62-year history, the publishing house produced more than twenty titles annually, a figure that has been affected in recent years by the country’s economic difficulties; a shortage that accelerated the shift to digital formats so that the texts could continue to reach readers. However, UNEAC added, and despite the current complex situation, Ediciones Unión is celebrating the institution’s 65th anniversary and the centennial of the leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz (1926-2016), with 15 new titles in print, in runs of one thousand copies each. *Mentir desde La Habana* (Lying from Havana), by Ernesto Pérez Castillo—winner of the Ítalo Calvino Prize (1923-1985), recently presented—is among them, and will be followed by the rest of the titles.
The next release will be *En el ojo del águila* (In the Eagle’s Eye), by Abel González Santamaría, a work that won the Juan Pérez de la Riva Historical Essay Prize (1913-1976); it will take place on April 15 at 3:00 p.m. in the Villena Room.
Cuban Book Day is also a tribute to the nation’s commitment to culture and education, faithful to the conviction expressed by Fidel Castro himself in 1961: “We don’t tell the people: believe. We tell them: read,” concluded the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) in its statement.
The José Martí National Library of Cuba (BNCJM) wrote on the occasion that the century-old institution not only preserves documents; it also supports book presentations and the distribution of titles of interest to all audiences, with its ongoing commitment to the dissemination of culture, manifested in various areas such as the media center, which offers a broad and accessible overview of the archipelago’s literary wealth.
With its publishing house, Ediciones Bachiller, and the library’s journal, as well as other initiatives, the BNCJM embodies the very essence of preserving an invaluable heritage: the book.
Infinite gratitude to those who generate, contribute and share knowledge extracted from each page, from each story, the source added, in addition to the general recognition of the referenced institutions to a solid guild that includes writers, editors, designers, printers and promoters who, with their work, guarantee the permanence and vitality of Cuban literature.
[ SOURCE: AGENCIA CUBANA DE NOTICIAS ]
