This edition of the festival is focused on the popular culture of Curacao

Havana, July 3 (RHC) The 44th edition of the Caribbean Festival, also known as the Fire Festival, begins today in the city of Santiago de Cuba, this time with a focus on the popular culture of Curacao.

Colombia, Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Haiti, and other countries will also be represented.

On the Cuban side, dozens of artists, scholars, and cultural groups from various provinces will attend the event.

Until July 9, Santiago will be the venue for a series of events that are emblematic of the festival, including the international symposium «The Caribbean that Unites Us» and the Caribbean Music Workshop.

The festival also includes an international workshop on Cuban and Caribbean dance and percussion, a popular theater workshop, a tattoo and piercing workshop, a Caribbean film exhibition, and a gathering of Afrofeminists.

There will also be talks about popular religious practices and plastic arts.

As per tradition, the Snake Parade will take place, as well as a grand event celebrating the guest nation.

The festival will conclude with the customary Fire Parade and the «Burning of the Devil», a mystical and religious ritual that gives the festival its well-known moniker of «Fire Festival». (Source: Prensa Latina)